Furry Feathers
by ebb in and away
Summary: During an attempted rape on the edge of the forest, a young girl is rescued by what some might consider to be a complete monster. However, to her, the rescuer will always be her "Wolfy". If only she could find him again... High T, almost M for near rape.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Prologue

The 16 year old girl hurried away from the graveyard, realizing that she had spent far too much time decorating the plot where the body of her favorite teacher was buried. It was nighttime, and there was a full moon to light her path, but that did not ease her worries in the slightest. She was finally in sight of the school when someone grabbed her, two masked men. She kicked and tried to scream, but one of the man had his hand over her mouth. She kept struggling against every movement that either of the men made, recognizing that not doing so was an awful idea that would result in her ruin. The men had managed to wrestle her onto the forest floor, and the one who wasn't holding her had started to slide his hand up her leg, which was thankfully covered by her jeans. If the man had his way, the jeans wouldn't be protecting her for much longer. She kept struggling, grateful that her mother's family had a legendary stubborn streak, as well as a vicious temper. The temper hadn't been passed down to her at its fullest strength, but she had enough to keep fighting. The man in front of her had reached the waistband of her jeans and was about to unbutton them when all three heard a growl that made the hairs on their necks stand up. The one holding her turned in shock, then let go and ran back towards the castle when he saw what it was. The man in front of her hadn't let go of her yet, but that soon changed as the werewolf leaped towards them, snarling. He ran for it, and the girl shut her eyes.

_So tired...I don't have it in me to fight anymore. At least I will die knowing that I remained as pure as I chose to be..._

With that last thought, she let herself fall asleep, not really caring whether she woke up ever again.

The werewolf sniffed at her curiously, then curled up beside her, only to have her snuggle in towards its warmth. It kept watch over her for hours, fleeing just a few hours before the sun began to rise.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Chapter 1

Remus Lupin had had a better full moon than his usual. Yes, he had still transformed into a wretched beast, and no, his friends hadn't been able to help him through it this time, but he had still gotten through the night with barely a scratch. He wasn't sure how that had been possible, but he would take that large favor when it presented itself. He still had to get his one slight scratch healed, as well as be checked over for any other issues, so he was in the Hospital Wing, waiting for Madame Pomfrey to calm down so he could talk to Professor Dumbledore. He had the strangest feeling that something had changed last night, for him to be only slightly scratched in one spot, but he couldn't quite sort the memories of the night out enough to pinpoint the change. Remus was just getting permission to leave when the doors burst open, startling both him and Madame Pomfrey. There stood Professor McGonagall, her arm supporting a girl who looked to be Remus's age and was covered in bruises and scratches. Madame Pomfrey approached the pair, going pale when the girl flinched away from the movement.

"Minerva, please tell me that she wasn't..."

McGonagall's mouth was a thin line, the thinnest that Remus could remember ever seeing it.

"She may have been. She won't say anything besides 'Help' and calling out for somebody."

Madame Pomfrey approached the girl more slowly this time, then led her to a bed a little ways from Remus's and drew the curtains. McGonagall was at the fireplace.

"Albus! Something has happened that needs your urgent attention."

There was movement in the flames and Professor Dumbledore climbed out, looking rather upset.

"Where is she?"

McGonagall motioned over to the curtained area.

"Poppy is checking to see whether her attacker actually..._managed_ anything."

Dumbledore swept over to the curtained area and McGonagall approached Remus.

"Mr. Lupin, you are free to go."

Remus left, feeling rather confused.

"Moony!"

Remus had just entered the Great Hall and whirled towards the familiar voice. He grinned when he saw his friends sitting together and hurried over to them.

"How was your...furry little problem...last night?"

James looked concerned, as did Peter and Sirius.

"Fine, barely a scratch, how was detention with Filch?"

The boys sitting by him groaned.

"He's awful Moony. We had to clean the Trophy Room, and polish every single trophy, without magic!"

Remus's lips twitched as he listened to Sirius whine.

"Maybe you'll learn not to practice hexes on the Slytherins."

James looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Nah, we'll just not get caught next time."

Sirius and Peter laughed as Remus rolled his eyes. They finished breakfast before grabbing their books and heading off to Potions.

Charms, the last class of the day, was rather dull that day, until Professor McGonagall swept in, her face grim.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Black, you need to come with me to the Hospital Wing."

Lily looked confused, as did Sirius, but both grabbed their books and left, feeling more than a little worried.

"I understand that both of you know Anila Mandara? The Gryffindor girl?"

"Yes."

Sirius answered since Lily had seemingly lost the ability to speak. Sirius had gone pale.

"There has been an...attack of some sort, and we need the two of you to try calming her down so Madame Pomfrey can see what happened to her. Ms. Evans, I suggest that you try first, while Mr. Black stays at a distance."

They walked into the Hospital Wing, both students feeling sick to their stomachs. The feeling intensified as they took in the sight of the girl in the far bed. Anila was black and blue, her arms covered in scratches and a slight goose-egg seemed to be forming on the right side of her forehead. She looked relieved to see Lily, but flinched when she saw Sirius. McGonagall held Sirius back and nudged Lily forward. Lily approached cautiously, keeping her movements slow and her voice soft.

"Hey, Anila. It'll be alright. You have to let Madame Pomfrey examine you though. She'll make it as painless as she can, but you have to be brave too, alright?"

"I tried, I swear...Two men. Want my Wolfy."

"I know, sweetie. I know that you've been brave, but you have to be brave for just a little while longer, ok?"

Anila nodded slowly. Lily had reached the bed and Anila instantly gripped her hand. Madame Pomfrey drew the curtains around the bed and performed a charm.

"Oh, thank goodness!"

McGonagall and Sirius sighed in relief at that statement. Madame Pomfrey finished healing the scratches, but the bruises would have to wait for a little while. Professor Dumbledore walked in as Madame Pomfrey was opening the curtains.

"Any news?"

McGonagall smiled slightly.

"Better than we expected. She wasn't raped. It looks like she fought back. She said that there were two men. She also said something about wanting her Wolfy?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Minerva, please take Mr. Black, Ms. Evans, and Ms. Mandara up to my office."

Lily led Anila over to the group. Anila still didn't seem to trust Sirius, but he had a plan for fixing that. The group went up to the office, where Professor McGonagall left them. She had only been gone for a few minutes when Dumbledore swept in.

"Headmaster!"

Sirius had blurted the word before Dumbledore had even managed to sit down.

"Yes, Mr. Black?"

"I...I'm..."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked at Sirius.

"Ms. Evans, might I request that you go with Ms. Mandara to talk to Fawkes?"

"Yes, Headmaster."

Anila grabbed Lily's hand and nearly pulled her across the room, looking happy for the first time since she had stumbled into the castle. Dumbledore watched for a moment before turning back to Sirius with a smile.

"Headmaster, I have a way to help Anila relax around me, but it's not precisely...legal."

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to intensify.

"Am I to assume that you would appreciate me temporarily becoming deaf and blind so you can soothe your cousin's nerves?"

"Yes, please, sir."

Dumbledore nodded before looking away. Sirius turned into his animagus form before approaching the two girls. Lily was scared, but relaxed when Anila simply dropped to her knees and flung her arms around the dog's neck.

"Hi, Pad-Pad."

The dog wagged its tail and licked her cheek before walking out of sight. Then Sirius came around the corner in his human form. He was walking slowly, and Anila launched herself at him.

"Cousin. Cousin. Cousin Siri."

Sirius gladly accepted and returned the girl's hug, feeling relieved. The girls went back to Dumbledore's desk with Sirius and sat down, Anila planted firmly in Sirius's lap. Dumbledore looked at them with a smile before a knock came at the door. He walked over to answer it, letting James, Peter, and Remus into the room. James saw the girl on Sirius's lap and approached rather quickly, but stopped when she shrunk back into Sirius.

"James, someone attacked her. She, she was nearly raped."

All three boys looked horrified. James thought for a moment, then pulled out a candy bar from his pocket. He crouched in front of Anila and Sirius, holding out the candy bar as a reminder of who he was. The girl sat up slightly, studied the wrapper of the candy bar, then looked at James. Ever so slowly, she edged off of Sirius's lap, and accepted the dark chocolate from James before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Both he and Sirius looked relieved as she let go of James long enough to sit back down on Sirius's lap before she grabbed Lily's hand and James's hand and held onto them. Professor Dumbledore smiled, then drew Remus aside, leaving Peter with the others.

"Is something wrong, Remus?"

"Sir, I think I may have gotten out of the Shrieking Shack last night. I have vague memories of seeing three people in the forest, but I don't know if I bit anyone and..."

Dumbledore smiled at him.

"We would know if you had by now. Relax, dear boy. You did no harm last night."

Remus relaxed, only to jump in alarm when they heard a shout coming from Anila. They looked over and saw Peter approaching with a piece of candy held out in front of him.

"Peter, back away from her."

Peter turned towards Remus.

"Why?"

James spoke up since Sirius and Lily were busy calming Anila down.

"Because she was attacked last night by men and she doesn't know you. As far as she knows, you are one of them. She knows me from this summer, because she and her mother visited Sirius at my house."

Peter returned to his spot next to Remus, feeling rather foolish. Remus smiled faintly at him.

"Don't worry. She isn't going to trust me either."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 2

The students made their way back to the Gryffindor common room, where Lily took Anila up to the girls dormitory and the boys headed up to their own. The boys were relaxing for a little bit before supper. Sirius eventually spoke.

"I wonder how Lily knows Anila. Especially since she just transferred here this year."

James shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe you can ask her at supper."

The boys stood and walked down to supper, all wondering how Lily could possibly know Anila so well after having known her for such a short time.

"Lily."

Sirius nudged her. She looked over at him.

"How do you know Anila so well? She doesn't take to strangers."

Lily leaned over.

"Her mother is best friends with my mum. My mum is her godmother. Made the discovery of me being a witch slightly less awkward, even though her mother never mentioned magic to my mum."

Sirius looked stunned, then he smiled.

"Glad to know my aunt found a way to rub my mum's pureblood nose in who she chose as her daughter's godmother."

Lily giggled. James looked up at this, curious to see what had made Lily laugh. Anila leaned around Lily to look at James.

"Try. You have a good plan, you just need to try."

She looked back at Lily.

"I want my Wolfy."

Lily sighed.

"I know you do, but we haven't found your Wolfy yet."

Remus had frozen at the statement Anila had made to Lily. _Wolfy? Could she possibly mean, me?_

He shook his head to clear it and continued to eat.

Sirius, James, Peter, and Frank Longbottom woke in the early morning to the sound of someone knocking on their door. Sirius opened it with his wand drawn, a habit he had picked up over years of living at Grimmauld Place. Lily and Anila stood in the doorway, and Anila immediately leapt towards Sirius when she saw him.

"What's wrong, Windy?"

"She had a nightmare. I...I think she was reliving her attack. I think it would be better for her if she stayed near you. I mean, yeah, you are a boy, but you're her cousin."

Sirius nodded.

"Thanks for looking after her, Lily."

Lily gave him a small smile.

"Of course. Let me know if she needs anything."

Lily turned to leave, but Anila pulled her into a hug before she could.

"Thank you, Lily."

"No problem, Anila."

Anila released her and turned around to see Frank moving forward. She gripped Sirius tightly and Frank stopped before turning around lifting the hem of his shirt so she could see his back. There, on his right shoulder blade, was a drawing in blue and red of a dragon. Lily hadn't left yet, and she was gaping, much to James's displeasure.

"Frank, why did you get a tattoo?"

Frank chuckled as he turned back around, lowering the hem of his shirt.

"I didn't. At least, not in the way you're thinking, Lily."

"Then how?"

"It's not a tattoo. Anila used...markers?"

Lily nodded in understanding. Sirius was gaping now.

"Windy did that?"

Frank nodded. Anila had finally let go of Sirius and approached Frank. Frank simply smiled down at her, having heard the four boys talking the previous night about what had happened.

Anila studied Frank's face for a moment before smiling back at him.

"New drawing?"

Frank's smile remained in place.

"Can we do that later? I'm a bit tired still, and it seems like you could use some rest."

"Alright."

Anila gave Lily one last hug before allowing her to leave, then curled up next to Sirius in his bed. All of the boys were back in their beds and fell asleep, except for Sirius. Sirius patiently waited for Anila to relax, but she sat up at a breeze that came in through the open window.

"Are you cold?"

She shook her head.

"I recognize that smell."

She got out of the bed and followed the scent over to Remus's bed, where he was sleeping off the weariness that resulted from transforming. She hesitated, then climbed into the bed. Sirius was staring in astonishment, then roared in laughter when Remus sat up in alarm at the movement in his bed. Anila simply curled into his side and fell asleep, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that she had never actually met him. Remus looked over to Sirius, who was watching his cousin snuggle into Moony's side.

"Padfoot, I swear I didn't..."

Sirius cut him off.

"I know. Lily brought her over this morning. Apparently she didn't get much sleep, and she's going to need it if she has to see Dumbledore later."

Moony looked back down at Anila.

"What do you want me to do about this?"

"Let her sleep? I know it's not your norm, but I think that your scent is comforting to her."

Remus nodded slowly.

"Alright, I'll let her stay then."

The two boys went back to sleep, and Moony's last thought before he did was a rather puzzled one.

_Why on Earth would my scent be comforting to her when she's never met me?_


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 3

Remus woke again to movement in his bed, as well as laughter coming from the other beds. He cracked open one eye, then both eyes flew open in surprise.

Remus had rolled over onto his back sometime in the night, and Anila now had her legs wrapped around one of his, with one arm stretched across his stomach. Remus tried to extract himself from her grip, but any movement he made resulted in her tightening her grip. He paused for a moment, trying to think of a plan that wouldn't scare the girl.

He needn't have bothered.

Anila woke up, saw Remus, and sprang out of the bed in terror. Sirius caught her before she fell, dragging her over and onto his bed, whispering reassurances all the while. Remus held as still as he could, not wanting to terrify her more, but James grabbed something from his trunk before approaching her. Sirius had managed to pull her onto his lap and was rocking her. When she caught sight of James she flinched, but he simply crouched next to the bed and held out a candy bar as he had for the first time that summer. Anila shook her head at the candy bar, but held her arms out to James. He gave her a gentle hug before turning to Sirius.

"Doesn't she have a meeting with Dumbledore today?"

Anila sprang up immediately and fled the dorm room.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 4

The next two months flew by, the meeting with Dumbledore resulting in a promise to inform him if Anila became certain that she had found her "Wolfy". She had been tagging along with the Marauders frequently, mainly Sirius and James. She was still clearly hesitant to get within arm's length of either Remus or Peter, but she would talk to them a little bit if James and Sirius were between her and them. The days turned colder, and finally it was the 3rd of December. Then, everything fell into chaos.

The day had started as it usually did, and Anila had gotten very little sleep within the past week, making her feel miserable.

_Just get through Charms and you'll be fine._

She was on her way to the last class of the day, feeling rather grateful that Professor Flitwick was always kind to her, when she saw trouble in the hallway up ahead. Remus was on his way to Charms as well, and was simply walking towards the classroom when Anila saw Bellatrix Black pull out her wand and hit Remus with a curse. Anila sprang into action. She cast a patronus and sent it to Dumbledore, then ran towards Remus as Bellatrix, Narcissa, Lucius, and Rodolphus approached him with their wands held out in front of them. Remus was trying to sit up, and Anila saw blood on his forehead. Lucius cast the next spell, but it never reached its target.

"Protego!"

Anila put all she had into the spell she had cast, falling onto her knees as her strength dwindled, determined that they wouldn't harm Remus again. Sirius, James, Peter, and Lily all entered the hall to see where their friends had gone just as Dumbledore reached the hall. The Slytherin group fled, and Anila finally let down the weakening protection when she saw Dumbledore. She then collapsed, much to the alarm of her cousin and friends. McGonagall had just reached the hallway when Anila passed out and immediately scooped her up, rushing her to the Hospital Wing. Professor Dumbledore was checking to see if Remus was alright to walk, then led him and his friends to the Hospital Wing so Remus could be patched up and Dumbledore could tell them why Anila had collapsed.

"Ms. Evans, has Ms. Mandara been having trouble sleeping recently?"

Lily nodded.

"I thought as much. Anila has an incredibly rare disorder that directly affects her magical abilities. Most wizards and witches can cast a spell without collapsing, but Anila has had to train herself to make her magic last longer her entire life. Mr. Black, do you remember her ever collapsing before?"

"No, but..."

"Yes?"

"When we were little, her mum used to tell her not to experiment any. I never found out why."

"This is precisely why. If Ms. Mandara uses too much of her magic, she collapses. Her strength and her magic are directly connected, which means that her not getting any sleep results in more than just her being tired. If she goes several nights without sleep, she has very little left to work with. From the looks of things though, she has been trained in such a way that her magic is strong in small doses. That is why she is capable of casting a patronus with very little hesitancy, as well as why her shield charm worked so well that Mr. Malfoy's spell was incapable of reaching either herself or Mr. Lupin."

Madame Pomfrey was bustling around Anila's bed, muttering to herself.

"Poppy, how is she?"

"She'll be fine, but she's going to be more than a little irritated. She's not going to appreciate having collapsed again."

She summoned a potion with a rather peculiar label.

"_'Mandara's Mystical Mender: The solution to a weary spell caster'?_"

Lily sounded amazed.

"Yes, someone in Ms. Mandara's family created this potion. They practically had to, seeing as it occurs from time to time in her family. If they hadn't, they might not have managed to survive long enough to continue the family tree."

Peter turned to Sirius.

"Why aren't you collapsing all the time if people in her family get this disorder?"

James spoke up as Sirius continued to stare at his cousin.

"Because the disorder runs through her father's side of the family. She's related to Sirius through her mother's side, right?"

Sirius nodded.

"Her mother is my father's sister. She married a Mandara, much to the dismay of my mother and father."

Anila stirred at the sound of Sirius's voice.

"Siri?"

He approached the bed and took her hand.

"Hey, Windy. Looks like your mother is quite the trainer."

"I collapsed again, didn't I."

It wasn't phrased as a question, it was stated as an incredibly irritating fact.

"Yeah, you collapsed. Why didn't you say you weren't getting enough sleep, we would've covered for you."

"Because this bloody disorder is irritating enough without my cousin, and his friends, AND my friends having to fuss over me as if I'll collapse if I even attempt a spell during class!"

Anila's voice was filled with venom. She opened her mouth to speak again, only to be stopped by Madame Pomfrey putting a cup of potion to her lips. She sighed, then took the cup and drank.

"At least my Great-Grandfather was able to make it taste nice. I have to admit, I love raspberries."

Professor Dumbledore chuckled.

"I will talk to Professor Flitwick for you Ms. Mandara. I believe he already knows of your disorder?"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore. I told all of my Professors as soon as I met them just in case something went wrong the first day of class."

"Very well. Good evening to all of you."

"Good evening, Professor. Thank you."

The students and Madame Pomfrey watched as he left. Madame Pomfrey waited until the doors had shut behind him before turning back to Anila.

"Whatever did you do to yourself this time?"

Anila rolled her eyes.

"I had a perfectly good reason for running out."

"And that was...?"

"Bloody imbeciles in Slytherin house attacked Remus."

Remus, who had quite forgotten about the cut on his forehead, looked startled. Madame Pomfrey sighed, quickly grabbing her wand and a bottle of disinfectant. She patched Remus up swiftly, then turned back to Anila.

"You missed your last class of the day. Do you feel up to going to dinner?"

"Yeah, I think so..."

She was cut off by Madame Pomfrey holding a small flask of potion out to her.

"Take this with you and have it on you at all times. Visit me if you run low on potion, alright?"

Anila smiled.

"Thanks, Madame Pomfrey."

Her smile was returned, then Madame Pomfrey fell back into her usual business-like manner.

"All of you, get going. I am running a hospital here, not a spare dormitory."

The group swiftly made their way out and went to dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

* * *

Ch. 5

Dinner was a rather quiet event, with the exceptions of Lily and Sirius trying to convince Anila to eat more than she usually did. Remus was reading a novel, James was staring at Lily, and Peter was stuffing himself with food. James had finally joined in on the attempt to make Anila eat some more food and Peter had started eating his dessert when Remus looked up from his book.

"Anila."

She looked over at him from her place across the table.

"What?"

Remus gave her a small smile.

"Thank you. For this afternoon."

Anila's face turned a delicate shade of pink, and she refused to reply. Instead, much to the relief of Sirius, James, Lily, and Remus, she started eating. Remus looked at his friends who were staring at him in shock.

"What?"

James and Sirius were gaping, but Lily was smiling.

"Thank you, Remus."

"For what?"

Lily's smile widened at Remus's attempt to act confused.

"For getting Anila to eat."

Anila had finished dinner and started on her dessert, clearly feeling better than she had been early that day. Remus shook his head.

"I never told her to eat."

Lily merely grinned at him, but didn't say any more about the subject.

Remus waited until he was sure that nobody except Lily was looking at him before smirking slightly and winking at her, earning himself an even wider grin in return.

* * *

James and Sirius had recovered from their shock enough to start eating again, and soon the entire group had finished. They went back to the common room, where they ran into Frank. Anila hugged him, then turned to Lily.

"Can we go get my markers? Please?"

"Sure."

The two girls went into their dormitory, leaving the guys to stare after them. Sirius turned to Frank.

"Why does she like drawing on you?"

Frank shrugged.

"I think she does it because she views it as a way to test how much she can trust someone. I mean, she didn't really know me right away, but I started talking to her at lunch the second week of this school year, and she just started relaxing around me. She likes Alice a lot too, so she draws bracelets and necklaces on Alice from time to time."

Sirius looked rather hurt.

"Why did she never ask to draw on me? I'm her cousin."

Frank shook his head.

"She doesn't feel like she needs to. With me, I started as a complete stranger, not someone her mother or father knew. It's her way of judging if she can trust someone she doesn't see very often. With you, she recognizes that you are family, even though you don't always see each other."

Peter spoke up.

"Why does she know James when he holds a candy bar out to her, but if I try it, or Remus does, she gets scared?"

James smiled.

"That is due to what happened this summer."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 6 What happened that summer

_Mrs. Potter had been reading a novel while her husband read the newspaper, both of them in the family room on rather comfortable chairs, when a knock came at the door. Mrs. Potter answered it, smiling at the face she saw on the other side._

_"_ _Udayana, how nice to see you. How have you been?"_

_"Quite well, thank you. I was rather hoping we could chat, while my daughter visits her cousin Sirius?"_

_Mrs. Potter's smile widened._

_"Of course, but where is your daughter?"_

_Udayana Mandara sighed._

_"Anila, sweetheart, you really must stop hiding behind me every time you see a new person. Besides, I thought you wanted to see Sirius."_

_A pair of blue eyes peeked out from behind Udayana, soon followed by the rest of the girl._

_"Sirius is here?"_

_Her voice was soft, and slightly musical. Mrs. Potter nodded._

_"Yes, if you will both please come in, I will call him for you."_

_The mother and daughter entered the enormous house, Udayana completely relaxed while Anila was shaking slightly with nerves. Mrs. Potter led them into the family room to talk with Mr. Potter while she called Sirius. Mr. Potter seemed kind enough, but Anila was still rather nervous, and jumped when she heard Mrs. Potter yell._

_"Sirius, you have visitors!"_

_All three adults, as well as the 16 year old girl, could hear footsteps on the stairs. Soon, a tall boy with long black hair entered the room. _

_"Hello?"_

_Udayana turned around and Sirius let out a whoop of joy._

_"Aunt Udayana!" _

_She pulled Sirius into a tight hug, so relieved that her nephew had gotten away from her brother and his horrible wife._

_Sirius was glad to see one of the few family members he actually liked, and his smile widened when he looked past Udayana to see Anila._

_"Windy!"_

_He picked her up and gave her an enormous hug, feeling relieved when she completely relaxed into him._

_"Hi, Cousin Siri!"_

_He finally put her down and turned to his aunt, who smiled at the pair._

_"I was hoping to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Potter, seeing as they're old schoolmates of mine that I haven't seen in ages. Anila wanted to see you, so I figured that you two could catch up while I caught up with my old friends."_

_Sirius grinned. _

_"Thanks, Aunt Udayana. Come on, Windy, you haven't seen my room yet."_

_Anila looked at her mother nervously. Udayana pulled her into a warm hug._

_"It's alright, sweetheart. Sirius will look after you and I'll be in the house the entire time."_

_Anila finally let go of her mother._

_"Alright."_

_Sirius took her hand and led her up the stairs to his room._

* * *

_The two cousins had reached Sirius's room in the Potter house, and Anila relaxed slightly once they were sitting on Sirius's bed and chatting. There was a lot to catch up on, and they spent nearly an hour catching up before there was a silent moment. Sirius leaned back and studied his cousin. _

_"You don't have your hair in a braid today. What happened?"_

_Anila frowned._

_"I woke up late and there wasn't enough time to braid it."_

_Sirius smiled at her._

_"Do you want me to do it?"_

_Anila nodded._

_"Please?"_

_"Sure. Did you bring hair ties?"_

_Anila held out two scarlet and gold striped hair ties. Sirius grinned._

_"James would love these if he had long enough hair that he could actually control."_

_"Who is James?"_

_"James is one of my best mates. You met his parents downstairs."_

_There was a knock on the door. The cousins looked up to see James standing in the doorway to Sirius's room._

_"Hey, who is this?"_

_"Prongs, this is my cousin Anila. Anila, this is James."_

_James strode confidently towards the bed with his hand stretched out so he could shake hands with Anila, but she squeaked and hid behind Sirius. James looked to Sirius in confusion._

_"She doesn't do well with strangers. She's home schooled, so she isn't around new people very often."_

_James thought for a moment, then left the room. Sirius was still trying to convince Anila to come out from behind him when James returned with a bar of dark chocolate in his hand. James motioned to Sirius to be quiet, then knelt beside the bed. He held out his hand with the candy bar in it._

_"Anila? Do you like dark chocolate?"_

_Anila's bright blue eyes peered over Sirius's shoulder._

_"Yes..."_

_James smiled kindly at her._

_"I have a bar here that hasn't been opened yet. Would you like to share it with Sirius and me?"_

_Anila started to edge out from behind Sirius._

_"Yes, please."_

_James kept the kind smile on his face as she scooted towards him. Anila was looking back at Sirius to see if she should continue to approach James when she scooted too far and nearly fell off of the bed. James steadied her before she could and she smiled at him gratefully._

_"Thank you."_

_"No problem. What do you say we split that chocolate bar now?"_

_Anila's smile widened as she nodded. James climbed up on the bed on the other side of Sirius, then broke the candy bar into three pieces, feeling glad that he had managed to get the girl to relax slightly. The three teenagers ate their chocolate in silence. Then Sirius turned to Anila._

_"You want me to braid your hair now?" _

_Anila hugged him before settling in front of him. James watched as Sirius expertly ran the hairbrush offered to him through Anila's hair, gently enough to avoid hurting her. Once he had gotten all of the tangles out of her hair that had been missed that morning, he started to braid the waist-length black hair. James studied the girl as Sirius braided her hair._

_With long black hair that was straight and bright blue eyes that were filled with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity, the girl was thin, but not underfed. She clearly took good care of herself, though she didn't appear to be particularly strong. She appeared to be shorter than him, maybe reaching his shoulders with the top of her head. He was fairly tall, so she must be tall for a girl her age._

_James continued to watch as Sirius braided Anila's hair. When he finally tied off the braid with a hair tie, James smiled at the pair._

_"Do you guys want to go fly for a bit? You can use my broom if you want to, Anila."_

_Sirius got off of the bed and grabbed his own broom, then turned to Anila._

_"What do you think, Windy? Do you want to come flying with us?"_

_Anila looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. James went to grab his broom, then the trio went downstairs to tell the parents what they were doing. Anila's mother pulled her aside._

_"Are you feeling well today? Do you have enough strength for this?"_

_"Yes, mum. I made sure to get a lot of sleep this week, especially last night."_

_Udayana smiled at her daughter. _

_"Good girl. Have fun, but be careful."_

_"I will. Love you."_

_"Love you too."_

_Anila hugged her mother, then scurried to Sirius's side and grabbed his hand. They followed James out the door, Anila feeling a tad bit nervous about what she was going to show James._

_"Alright, Anila, do you want to fly for a bit first?"_

_She looked up at Sirius with a question in her eyes. He nodded, smiling to reassure her._

_"James?"_

_"Yes, Anila?"_

_"I...need to show you something."_

_James was surprised that the girl had become withdrawn again._

_"It's alright. You can tell me."_

_She let go of Sirius's hand, then pulled out her wand. James looked to Sirius in confusion. Sirius motioned for him to just watch and wait. _

_Anila held her wand loosely at her side, rolling her wand slowly. James was confused, but waited as Sirius had motioned for him to. He felt the wind pick up, but didn't think anything of it. It slowly picked up speed, which is when James realized something. _

_The wind was only blowing around the trio._

_Things only got stranger from there._

_James watched in amazement as Anila's wand grew in length, soon reaching the length of a regular racing broom. There were no bristles on the wand though. He couldn't imagine what the point in showing him this was though. Then Anila straddled her wand, and jumped into the air._

_James stared in shock as she stayed up in the air, then as she flew higher and started turning tricks in mid-air._

_"What?_ _But, but...how?"_

_Sirius sighed. _

_"She's been training at home with her mother and father. She's learned how to do some magic that isn't all that common because of it. That, and her father's family has talents that start showing as the person gets older."_

_James was still spluttering. Anila landed by Sirius and the wind died down, her wand shrinking back to its normal size._

_"Is he okay?"_

_Anila looked scared, and Sirius couldn't blame her. Everyone she had shown her abilities to, outside of her family, had run away from her upon discovering just how strong she was._

_James soon recovered himself._

_"Anila, that was incredible! Can you do that with things other than your wand, or do you need your wand?"_

_Anila stared at James in disbelief._

_"You don't think I'm weird?"_

_"Weird? No! You're amazing! Do you realize how many witches and wizards would love to be able to control the wind and make objects grow and fly without having to wonder if they'll support their weight?"_

"_I can't control the wind."_

_James paused. _

"_What?"_

"_I can't control the wind. Not really. All I can really do with it is pull it towards me a little bit. It's not much, but it helps ease how harshly I hit the ground when I fall."_

_James rolled his eyes._

"_Either way! That's an ability that most people would pay a lot of money for. You're incredible!"_

_Anila was turning red as James carried on._

_"And you'd be brilliant at quidditch! If only you went to Hogwarts...Gryffindor house would win the cup for sure..."_

_James had a slightly manic look in his eyes that only tended to appear when he was thinking of quidditch. Anila smiled at Sirius before plugging her ears. Sirius chuckled, while his cousin liked flying and watching quidditch, she had no interest in playing on a school team, or anywhere except with him for fun._

_James eventually quit rambling about quidditch, much to Anila's relief. James whirled around to look at Anila. _

_"Is there anything else unusual that you can do?"_


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 7

Remus interrupted James and Sirius as they were explaining what had happened that summer.

"You mean that Anila can fly with only her wand under her?"

Both Sirius and James nodded. Remus was about to ask another question when Lily and Anila came back into the common room, Anila holding a pack of markers in her hands. Frank grinned at her.

"Does this mean I get a new drawing?"

Anila grinned back.

"Please?"

"Yeah!"

Frank picked her up and tossed her into the air, drawing a shriek of delight from the young witch. He set her down gently, then took her hand and led the group up the stairs into the boys dormitory. Most of the boys sprawled out on their respective beds while Frank pulled off his shirt and laid down on the floor on his stomach. Lily sat near him, while Anila knelt beside him with a rather serious expression on her face. First she removed the old drawing with a flick of her wand, then she offered the pack of markers to Frank.

"How many?"

Anila held three fingers in front of his face, then sat back to wait. Frank selected three markers, then handed them to Anila, setting the rest of the pack on the floor.

Anila took the markers from Frank, studied the colors he had chosen (dark blue, brown, and green), then got to work. The other boys and Lily watched in silence as Anila carefully drew a shield on Frank's shoulder, outlining it in blue before using the green and brown to fill in the outline. She had just finished the design and tapped her wand against it to avoid having the design wash off when Alice walked in. Anila turned around and smiled when she saw the design on Alice's wrist. Alice greeted the group cheerfully before settling on the floor beside her boyfriend. Frank rolled onto his back before sitting up and putting on his shirt, then kissed his girlfriend chastely in greeting. Anila smiled at the pair, then turned to James.

"Can I do a design on you? Please?"

James smiled at her, feeling more than a little happy that Anila liked and trusted him well enough to do this.

"Sure. What do you want me to do?"

"Shirt off, then lie on your stomach."

James followed her instructions, almost missing the slight gasp that came from Lily as he pulled his shirt off, but wisely choosing not to acknowledge it. Anila handed the pack of markers to him, holding two fingers out to him so he knew how many to choose. He pulled a red markers out along with a yellow one, the closest to Gryffindor colors that he could get, then handed them to Anila, setting the box on the floor beside him. Anila ran her hand down his back, trying to choose a place to create her design. She finally stopped and smiled, then uncapped the red marker and got to work.

James felt slightly awkward as he felt the..._what had Frank called it? Ah yes, marker_... trace down his spine, soft hands guiding it down his back, tracing around each vertebra. Soon he heard the sounds of one marker being capped and the other uncapped, but he still had no idea what Anila was drawing.

"Lily?"

"Yeah, Anila?"

"Could you help me really quickly please?"

"I can try."

James felt a third hand on his back and had to bite his tongue in order to avoid making a comment about how shaky the newest hand was. He felt the slightly quivering hand trace down his spine ever so slowly, following the design with its fingertips. James could feel the eyes of his friends on him, as well as Lily's, Alice's and Anila's. He tried his best not to shift, feeling rather awkward at having so much attention when he wasn't doing anything. After another ten minutes, he felt the distinct shape of a wand tip tap his back.

"You can sit up now."

James rolled over and sat up, facing Anila. The other boys, as well as Lily and Alice saw the design on his back while Anila whispered to him.

"Thank you."

James smiled back at her.

"Thank you. For, everything."

Anila grinned at him.

"No problem."

They were interrupted by Sirius practically tackling Anila as he hugged her.

"Windy, your designs are amazing!"

"Thanks, Siri!"

James put his shirt back on before leaning back, using his arms to hold himself up. Anila was humming to herself quietly as the others talked amongst themselves.

"Anila?"

She looked over at Remus.

"James and Sirius mentioned what happened this summer. If you aren't too tired, would you mind perhaps...demonstrating one or two things?"

The entire group turned towards Anila, wondering what her answer would be. Anila looked over at Sirius for reassurance, receiving a smile in return. She then stood up and crossed the room over to the window. She opened it, then stuck one hand out, smiling as she felt a slight breeze travel up her arm and into the room. She pulled her hand back in until her hand was barely sticking out. She put her palms on either side of the opening, then pushed against the frame. Much to the amazement of her classmates, the window stretched until it was large enough for a small person to fit through. Anila took a deep breath, then climbed onto the window sill. The entire group sprang forward in alarm, but Anila merely stepped out past the window sill before anyone could reach her.

She never fell.

Anila stood on air, not dropping an inch from her feet being even with the window sill. She then turned around and pulled up on the top of the window, stretching it so she could see inside the room without having to bend over any. James, Frank, and Alice were gaping. Lily was wide eyed, but had managed to keep her mouth closed. Peter had fainted, Remus was gazing at her curiously, but her eyes sought Sirius. He hadn't seen this trick yet.

Gray eyes locked on blue, an instant comfort as she found incredible kindness and love in them. Sirius smiled at her, then winked. Anila grinned back before stepping inside again. She pulled the window back to its normal dimensions, relieved that Sirius wasn't angry with her. She then turned to Remus.

"There's another thing I can do, but I need your help."

Remus was more than a little confused.

"Why me?"

Anila smiled at him again.

"You'll see."


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Author's Note 2: Thank you so much for reviewing! All of you who have reviewed, favorited, and added this story to your alerts, thank you! Seeing that people are actually reading this story makes me so happy, and it gives one of my friends the chance to say "I told you so.", which I do believe they enjoy. To Catgirlie and mimichamp, thank you for the extremely helpful advice, because I honestly needed it. Now, on with the story!

Ch. 8

Remus followed her over to his bed, sitting down when she gestured for him to do so. Anila turned to Frank and Alice.

"Alice, I know you get nauseous at the sight of blood, so I really think it would be better if you and Frank left. This isn't going to be pretty."

Alice nodded.

"Alright, I will see you later."

The two girls hugged, then Frank hugged Anila before leading Alice out of the dormitory. Lily had brought Peter back to consciousness by this point, so he, James, and Sirius had all moved to sit on James's bed. Lily looked around for a moment, wondering where she should sit, but Anila tapped her shoulder.

"I honestly think that you would be better off leaving too, Lily. What I'm about to do already has my stomach churning."

Lily studied the girl's face for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, I'll see you in a little bit."

She hugged Anila and left, closing the door behind her. Anila walked over to the door and locked it. She then turned to Sirius.

"You know, don't you?"

Sirius nodded.

"I do."

Anila walked back to Remus's bed and sat down behind him.

"Shirt off."

Remus pulled his shirt off and let it fall to the ground.

"Silencio."

Remus found himself unable to make a sound. He started to feel more than a little bit nervous, but decided that Sirius wouldn't let Anila hurt him. He looked over at Sirius, who gave him a reassuring nod. James looked worried, but wasn't moving to stop Anila since Sirius seemed to think that the spell was a good idea. Peter looked nervous and slightly angry, but did nothing, his eyes twitching from James and Sirius over to Anila and Remus rather quickly. Remus felt movement behind him, then a mouth was at his right ear.

"This may twinge a bit, and I'm sorry, but it really should help, honest."

Remus nodded to let Anila know he was as ready as he could possibly get. He felt two arms wrap around him and pull him backward until he was practically in Anila's lap.

All Remus knew after that, was pain.

He understood that Anila didn't want to hurt him, she had no reason to. He also knew that the other Marauders would stop her if she were physically harming him. He could hear her whispering in his ear.

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. I promise it'll feel better, I'm sorry."

Remus felt his eyes tear up, then felt the tears run down his cheeks. Anila rolled him over onto his stomach before standing beside the bed with her hands stretched out in front of her. The other Marauders stared as the wounds on Remus's back began to heal as well, hiding almost every trace of his monthly torture. Every scratch and scar that had come from his transformations shrunk and disappeared. Soon, the only scar even slightly related to his being a werewolf was the one that had been caused from being bitten when he was a child. Remus lay whimpering on the bed as Anila stepped back, her face rather pale. Sirius moved towards Remus as Anila bolted from the room, tears streaming down her face. James made to move after her, but Sirius shook his head.

"She needs to be away from us for a little bit."

He removed the silencing charm and helped Remus to sit up. Remus wiped his eyes, then looked at Sirius.

"How did...where did she...when did she learn she could do that?"

"You know what she did?"

James was amazed, Peter was confused, but Sirius simply smiled.

"I was doing some research before you guys became Animagi, trying to find ways to ease the pain from transformations. I came across a book that mentioned people who could heal others without using any potions or anything that is normally required. I researched it some more, but there wasn't any way to learn the ability. I asked Pomfrey if she knew anybody with the talent, but she said she didn't. Granted, this was back in second year, and I tried to put the idea out of my mind after that."

James spoke up.

"Then we became Animagi, which helped calm the wolf, even though sometimes we wind up causing injuries so you can't harm anyone."

* * *

Anila hadn't stopped running after she left the boys dormitory. She was still crying, but she knew where she wanted to go. She finally reached her destination, pounding on the door. The door opened to reveal an obviously irritated Professor McGonagall. Her expression changed rapidly when she saw how upset Anila was.

"Come in, I'll contact your mother."

She led Anila over to the fireplace, then tossed a pinch of green powder into it.

"Mandara Manor."

McGonagall knelt and shoved her face into the flames. Udayana was sitting near the fireplace when her face reached the manor.

"Udayana, Anila is incredibly upset. I think one of her powers is to blame."

"Thank you, Professor. Can you send her through?"

"Certainly."

McGonagall pulled her head out of the fireplace and moved aside, allowing Anila to ease her head into the flames.

"Anila, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I was using my healing ability..."

Anila started sobbing.

"Shh, sweetheart, you have to remember how much you help the person when you use that ability."

"But I cause them so much pain. I just wish I could do something to ease the pain afterwards."

Udayana sighed.

"Let me go get your father. Maybe he can remember some relative with an ability that can help."

Udayana swiftly left the room, calling for her husband. Anila waited patiently, her tears drying on her cheeks as she began to relax, soothed by the warm flames and familiar sight of her family's sitting room. Udayana soon returned, followed by Adler Mandara.

"Sweetpea, what's the matter?"

"I used my healing power, and now one of my classmates is in pain, and I can't do anything about it."

The tears returned in full force.

"Hey, it's alright...I know how you can help them, it's alright..."

Anila's eyes widened.

"I can help them? How?"

"You know how I always rub your mother's shoulders after a rough day?"

"Yeah..."

"You're at the age now that a new power should be developing soon, if it hasn't already."

"What do I do?"

"You know how to give a massage still, correct?"

"Yep."

"That's all you really have to do. The power should flow through on its own."

"Thanks, dad."

"No problem, sweetpea. Love you."

"Love you too."

He kissed her forehead, then allowed her to kiss his cheek. He drew back to allow Udayana to reach her daughter.

"I love you sweetheart, take care."

"I love you too, mum."

They kissed each other on the cheek. Anila then pulled her head out of the flames, returning to McGonagall's office.

"Everything sorted out?"

Anila smiled.

"Yes, Professor. Thank you."

McGonagall smiled at her.

"Of course. I will see you in class on Monday. Good day."

"Bye, Professor."

Anila hurried back to the Gryffindor common room, hoping that Remus didn't hate her for what she had done.

* * *

The Marauders were still in the boys dormitory, chatting about various things, when the door swung open. They looked over to see Anila standing in the doorway, looking rather nervous. Sirius started to stand up, but Anila shook her head. He slowly lowered himself back into his seat, wondering what his cousin was up to. Anila approached the group, then pulled out a bar of dark chocolate. She broke it into 5 pieces, then gave some to Sirius, James, and Peter. She then turned to Remus.

"I talked to my dad. He...he says that...that there's a way for me to remove the pain. I haven't done it before, but he says that it's a simpler ability to work with, so..."

She trailed off, looking nervous. Remus winced as another spasm of pain made its way down his back, followed by another down his chest.

"I'm more than willing to let you try on me."

Anila gestured for him to lay on his stomach on his bed. He did so slowly, feeling his muscles protest as the pain increased. Anila looked at him for a moment, then climbed up on the bed and straddled his waist, allowing her butt to use his as a seat. She leaned forward, pressing her hands into his shoulders. She used slow, deep strokes across his back, relaxing as the familiarity of giving a massage came to her, as well as a somewhat familiar scent. She moved slowly, concentrating only on the back she was working on, not even noticing when the other three boys picked up a conversation. She glanced at Remus's face to make sure that she wasn't hurting him, then smiled at what she saw.

Remus's eyes were starting to drift shut as Anila massaged his back, his lips curved up slightly into a small smile. Anila kept working, watching as Remus fought to keep his eyes open. Soon she had finished the massage, so she climbed off of Remus and waited for him to sit up. When he finally had, she handed him a piece of chocolate, putting hers in her pocket for later.

"Thank you."

Anila merely smiled at him and watched as he took a bite of the chocolate. She sat down next to him, still relaxed from before. Remus turned and said something to her, his breath drifting across her face as he did so. Anila froze. Sirius, who had been keeping an eye on his cousin, was by her side immediately.

"Windy, what's wrong?"

Anila was staring at Remus in shock, but snapped out of it when she heard Sirius. She practically threw herself at Remus, wrapping him into a tight hug.

"Wolfy. Wolfy. Safe."

Her grip on him tightened. Sirius ran to get Professor Dumbledore.

* * *

Sirius reached Dumbledore's office in record time, then realized that he didn't know the password. So, he did the first thing he could think of."PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE! PLEASE! LET ME IN! IT'S ABOUT ANILA!"Needless to say, nobody in the area appreciated this, least of all Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Black! What is the meaning of this commotion?""Anila. She, she figured it out. She...she found him."

McGonagall's eyes widened.

"Honeyduke's."

Sirius launched himself forward as soon as he could see the wood door, pounding on it. McGonagall shook her head and went back to her office, closing the door behind her.

Sirius finally let up on the poor door, realizing he would never hear Dumbledore if he called him in. Sure enough, as soon as he stopped, he heard the Headmaster's calm voice.

"Come in."

Sirius threw himself into the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Anila found her 'Wolfy'."

"And?"

"It's Remus."

"Please bring Anila and Remus, as well as anyone else who was there when she figured it out, here."

Sirius ran back to Gryffindor tower.

* * *

When he reached the boys dormitory, he was somewhat alarmed to find Remus crying as Anila clung to him. He looked over at James for an explanation.

"He thinks that Anila will hate him when she realizes...what he is."

Sirius sat on Remus's bed.

"Windy?"

His cousin turned towards him, still holding onto Remus.

"Yeah, Siri?"

Sirius paused to collect his thoughts.

"Do you remember...what sort of creature Wolfy was?"

"Wolf."

"Alright...do you know what sort of creature Remus is?"

"Sirius, that's enough."

Remus was staring at him, his eyes both pleading and answered Sirius's question anyways.

"Human."

With a very apologetic glance at Moony, Sirius continued.

"Do you remember what you called Remus before I left?"

"Wolfy."

Sirius watched his cousin as she put the pieces together. The moment she turned to look at Remus, the group knew she had figured it out.

"Werewolf."

There was no doubt in her voice. The tears started streaming down Remus's face even faster. What Anila did next surprised him.

Gently, ever so gently, she took his hands in hers and pulled them out of his lap, pushing them to his sides. She then climbed onto his lap and grabbed his hands again, wrapping his arms around her.

Sirius, James, and Peter watched as Remus slowly relaxed, still clearly scared that Anila would turn on him, but also obviously starting to trust her. Then Sirius remembered his instructions.

"We have to go see Dumbledore."

Anila climbed out of Remus's lap and pulled him to his feet.

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

The trip to Dumbledore's office was a quiet one, and Remus was more than a little nervous. No one in the group besides Anila knew what "Wolfy" had done that night. They eventually reached the office and Sirius gave the password, then knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Anila followed the Marauders, clearly somewhat nervous herself. Dumbledore smiled kindly at the group, and they all relaxed slightly as they took the seats offered to them.

"Ms. Mandara, I hear that you've found 'Wolfy'."

"Yes, Professor."

Anila pointed to Remus, who was starting to look slightly paler than he usually did.

"I would like to talk with all of you about what this means for Remus's condition."

The entire group waited, Remus feeling terrified.

"Ms. Mandara, could you tell your cousin and his friends what happened that night?"

Anila looked over at the boys, feeling nervous until she met Sirius's gaze.

"The wolf, he...he attacked the two boys who were attempting to rape me. He never bit them or anything, but he jumped at one to make him leave, since the other had taken off at the sight of him. I remember just closing my eyes, not really caring if I lived or not, I was just so tired from fighting with my attackers. I fell asleep, but I remember feeling warm breath on my face right before I drifted off, as well as warm fur against my arm."

Anila looked over at Remus.

"I never got harmed by him that night. He saved my life, strange as that seems."

Dumbledore spoke.

"There is a reason I asked to know when Anila found her 'Wolfy'. I want to find out why she was never attacked that night, and I believe that the easiest way to find out will be to put her in a controlled version of that situation."

Sirius spoke up.

"How would the situation be controlled?"

"Remus will be in the Shrieking Shack, Anila just outside of it. I believe that her scent might be soothing enough to fix part of the problem."

James spoke then.

"And the rest?"

Dumbledore smiled.

"We'll have to try this to find out. Good night."

The students said goodnight, then went back to Gryffindor tower.

Once they had reached the common room, Anila hugged Sirius and James before going up to the girls dormitory. The boys went to their dorm, feeling nervous about the entire plan. They couldn't talk about it though, since Frank was already up there. So, they went to bed, each tossing and turning while thinking of the plan that Dumbledore had come up with.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 9

Weeks passed after their meeting with Dumbledore, and Anila started to trust both Remus and Peter a little bit more than before, much to the relief of Sirius and James who no longer had to stay between her and them. Christmas break finally began, and Anila wound up staying at Hogwarts with Lily, Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus since her mother and father were traveling for business during that time. A few days into the vacation, The Marauders, along with Lily, went back to the boys dormitory while searching for Anila. What they found there shocked them all momentarily.

Anila's wand was on Sirius's bed, and Anila herself was leaping around the room to the music that was coming from it. She was wearing a pair of bell bottom jeans with a bright orange shirt, lime green socks, and a Gryffindor tie was wrapped around her head, her hair out of its normal braid.

Sirius was the first to recover and stepped forward, drawing his wand.

"Oi! Anila!"

Anila whirled around, then grinned when she saw him.

"Hi, Siri!"

"What color do you want, Windy?"

"Bright blue!"

Sirius flicked his wand, laughing at the squeal of delight when Anila saw her hair. Their friends started laughing as Anila leapt for her wand and turned Sirius's hair orange. Sirius joined in with her dancing.

"Come on you guys! Let's have some fun!"

The others joined in, Remus somewhat reluctantly. He was about to sit down on his bed when a slow song came on, and he sighed in relief. Anila had been dancing with Lily, so it was entirely too easy for her to hand her over to James, who looked both incredibly nervous, and completely ecstatic at having a chance to dance with Lily. Lily merely smiled at him and allowed him to dance with her. Sirius had sat down on his bed, figuring that Anila could use the dance to become more comfortable with his friends. Peter had sat down on his bed after everyone else had started dancing, and was entirely surprised when Anila held out her hand to him. He hesitantly took it, allowing her to pull him from the bed.

Peter was actually a good dancer.

The rest of the Marauders had never seen him dance before, and he had never tried to dance before, but once he got used to holding Anila's hand and resting his other hand on her waist, he relaxed and followed her movements. As Anila took a step back, he moved forward, never stepping on her toes. Peter himself was stunned that he hadn't tripped or injured the poor girl, or anybody else, yet. The song slowly wound to a close and the four dancers stepped away from their partners. A new song began to blare out of Anila's wand, and she looked at Sirius with a mischievous grin. Sirius stuck his tongue out at her before grabbing Remus and pulling him over to James and Peter. Lily was watching curiously, then found herself being dragged over to Remus by Anila. Anila positioned Lily's hands on top of Remus's head as Remus cast glances over at James to reassure him that he wouldn't be trying anything. James was looking on curiously, then became distracted when Anila put his hands on Peter's head. Finally, Anila stood in front of Sirius and placed his hands on her head, smiling when she felt his long fingers move over her scalp as if he were playing a piano. Sirius, having done this with Anila before, spoke up.

"Alright, this is a bit of a trust exercise. Anila already trusts me, but she needs to partner with me so no one gets hurt."

The entire group turned to look at him.

"Why would someone get hurt with her?"

"Because, Wormtail, she doesn't always have complete control over her powers when she gets terrified. She has managed to harm someone before."

The entire group gawked at Anila, who looked near tears before Sirius started moving his fingers again.

"Okay, all that we have to do is stand here as we are and look into each other's eyes. If you think the other person is getting nervous, try moving your fingers along their scalp without scratching them. If you are the one with hands on your head, and you think the other person is getting nervous, try resting your hands on their shoulders and squeeze reassuringly. It's not a competition, so there isn't an exact amount of time you have to stay like this. Anila and I will let you know when to stop. Everyone ready?"

"Yep."

"Begin."

Remus tensed up immediately, not used to having this much close contact with anybody. Lily moved her fingers through his hair gently, and smiled at him as he slowly began to relax. James was becoming tense with his hands on Peter's head, so Peter tried squeezing his shoulders reassuringly, but with no success. Anila was fidgeting occasionally, only relaxing when Sirius moved his fingers across her hair. Soon, Anila blinked twice in rapid succession at Sirius, who immediately released her and stepped back.

"Time to switch it up you guys. After this round we can get something to eat."

Anila dragged Lily over to James, then placed his hands on her head. Peter and Remus were partnered up, with Peter's hands on Remus's head. Anila stepped back to Sirius and let him put his hands on her head, unwilling to switch since she was still fighting to keep her power under control.

"Begin."

Sirius's smooth voice relaxed her slightly, and she felt his long fingers running through her hair, slowly massaging her scalp to help her stay calm. Lily was fidgeting quite a bit, even as James ran his fingers along her scalp in an attempt to soothe her. Peter and Remus were both twitching nervously, even as they tried to soothe each other. Remus was squeezing Peter's shoulders while Peter tried to move his fingers in a soothing manner. Anila could tell how nervous all of them were, with the exception of Sirius, and blinked three times, receiving a nod in return.

'_Relax._'

The others jumped as the thought entered their minds.

'_I know that it's difficult to get used to, believe me. I've harmed someone before, so I can't rest my hands on anyone's head without fearing that I will harm another. There is a reason that I always work with Sirius for this exercise. I know that trusting another person, even a friend, within your personal space can be tricky at times, but that is why I do this exercise. If I didn't do this exercise with Sirius, I likely wouldn't be able to trust anyone outside of my mother and father._'

The others felt the thoughts leave their minds, feeling relieved once they were gone. Remus and Peter were the first to relax, realizing that they had a friend in their personal space. Lily, on the other hand, remained tense until James adjusted where his hands were and moved his fingers again. James was thrilled as Lily stopped fidgeting and relaxed. The exercise continued for a few more minutes, then Anila's hands twitched. She immediately stepped away from Sirius, trying to keep herself under control. Sirius took a few steps back and told the others that the exercise was done. James started to approach Anila, but Sirius grabbed his arm.

"Leave her alone, Prongs. You won't be able to help her. Heck, even I can't help her right now."

The entire group was watching in concern as Anila closed her eyes, fighting back this particular bit of power. She realized why it was giving her so much trouble, her eyes flying open and meeting Remus's.

"Lily knows. She doesn't hate you. She still wants to be your friend."

Lily turned slightly pink.

"You know...?"

Lily nodded.

"I do still want to be your friend though. You're a nice guy, even if you...have issues once a month."

Remus's eyes filled with tears and Lily wrapped him in a warm hug. Anila smiled at the pair as her power stopped acting up. James spoke up.

"Let's go to lunch."

The group quickly agreed and made their way to the Great Hall chatting happily. Lily sat by Remus, leaving Peter wondering who he should sit by. He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked over at Anila, who was patting the seat next to her. Peter sat down hesitantly, not used to the girl being comfortable around him, then relaxed when she started playing with the food on her plate. He smiled and started doing the same with his, earning a grin from her. The group was eating and chatting, everyone happy that they were with friends, when Regulus walked over from the Slytherin table. All four Marauders drew wands, Lily drew hers so she could attempt to stop the fight, but Anila simply looked up at him and waited for an explanation.

"I'm scared."

Anila got to her feet, Regulus moving out of her way. He flinched when she raised her hand up to his face, then relaxed as she smiled at him kindly. The group looked to Sirius for an answer.

"She can tell if a person is telling the truth this way. She's been able to since we were little kids. She isn't more than two months older than Regulus, but her mother trained her in such a way that, even though she turned sixteen in November, she can keep up with the course work for our year. That's why Dumbledore allowed her to be in our year."

Remus and Lily looked impressed.

"As for how she can tell if he's telling the truth, this particular talent of hers causes flames to shoot out of her hand if the person isn't telling her the truth. That's why Regulus flinched when she first raised her hand."

Lily gasped.

"You mean..."

Sirius nodded grimly.

"He was the first person she ever tried the power on who actually lied when she did. He got his face scorched, then had to lie on the floor as she healed him so our mother wouldn't find out."

Sirius looked haunted.

"He was writhing on the floor. We were at home by ourselves, except for Kreacher, and he kept screaming..."

Sirius looked at Remus.

"Moony, what you felt was nothing compared to what he felt. Your wounds were old, and only stung occasionally. Not to mention you're a lot older than we were at the time and Anila was able to ease the pain afterwards. Regulus's burns were still fresh, and he was only about five years old. Anila didn't get her power to soothe pain until just recently. He wouldn't stop screaming..."

The group looked over at Anila and Regulus again, wondering how he could let her near him when he was so scared. Her hand was still by his face, and they couldn't hear what he was saying to her. His eyes were clenched shut, with tears running down his face.

"He's probably been worried for a while. He couldn't come over here and ask her for help when the other Slytherins were around. With just Snivellus here though..."

The group continued to watch as Regulus opened his eyes and Anila lowered her hand. She stared into his eyes for a moment before holding her arms out to him. He started crying again as he let her draw him into a hug, sobbing into her shoulder. Severus Snape stepped into the Great Hall at that moment, causing the group to tighten their grips on their wands. He saw Anila and Regulus, nodded to Anila, then walked over to the Slytherin table. Regulus stopped crying and hugged Anila again before going back to the Slytherin table. Anila sat back down, but the rest of the group was staring in shock as Severus merely nodded at Regulus when he sat down by him.

"Why are all of you so shocked?"

The group snapped out of it when Anila spoke.

"Did Snivellus just nod to you?"

Sirius sounded angry.

Anila met his gaze defiantly.

"Yes. We've known each other for years now."

She then continued eating, finishing while Sirius was busy gaping at her. She left quickly, not in the mood to explain why she knew Severus so well.

Sirius turned to Lily.

"She met him while visiting you, didn't she?"

"Yes. She comes over every summer. I told her what happened last year, and she apparently yelled at him. She came back telling me that he'll never use that word again."

The group finished eating in silence and left the Great Hall, splitting up until suppertime. None of them found Anila until group made their way back to the common room after supper, each person wondering where Anila could be. They went to their dorms, all except for Sirius, who stayed up waiting for Anila to return. He had nearly dozed off by the time Anila came in. She sat down beside him and took a deep breath.

"I know Severus because I met him when I was nine years old. Both he and Lily were ten, and she had become friends when Severus told her that she was a witch, not just a weirdo. Severus started talking to me when Lily couldn't come out to play, mainly because of some chore she had to do, and I learned what his home life is like."

Anila turned her head to face Sirius, her bright blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"What he's been through would be enough to make anybody angry at the world, if it didn't simply break them first."

Sirius spoke up.

"You can't say what he's gone through, can you?"

"No. I can say that if someone did to me what they've done to him, you would likely murder the person without a second thought."

Sirius pulled her into a hug, now holding back tears himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get angry with you, I'm so sorry."

Anila hugged back.

"You didn't know. Let's go get some sleep."

The cousins made their way up to the boys dorm, both falling asleep as soon as their heads met the pillow.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from http:/ /hasani. net. phtemp. com/ celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 10

Christmas morning dawned crisp and bright, and Lily woke up to Anila singing Christmas carols. None of Anila's gifts had been unwrapped yet, but she was grinning and her eyes were shining with excitement. As soon as she saw that Lily was awake, she grabbed a gift off of her bed and gave it to her.

"Happy Christmas, Lily!"

"Happy Christmas, Anila."

Anila turned and tore out of the dorm room while Lily got out of bed and went to get dressed. She had just finished dressing when she realized that Anila wasn't back yet. Figuring that she must be in the boys dorm, she went there, finding a silent Anila with her ear pressed up against the closed door. Anila motioned for her to be quiet, then slowly eased open the door. The boys were still asleep, and Lily wondered whether Anila was trying to only wake up Sirius. Anila motioned for Lily to stay where she was, so she obeyed. Anila took a step farther into the room and turned around.

After that, chaos reigned.

Anila had flicked her wand, causing jets of water to launch the Marauders out of their beds. As the boys looked around for the source, Anila dried the room with her wand, then shoved Lily out of the room, closing the door with a yelled "Happy Christmas!" behind them.

Lily was laughing as they waited for the boys to come down to the common room, barely able to believe that Anila had done something like that. Anila was staring up the stairs to the boys dorm, happy that Sirius had started this tradition with her years ago. Every time that they spent Christmas together, whoever got up first would wake the other by pulling a prank of some sort, even though they couldn't use magic legally at home yet. They never got caught by the ministry since they grew up with wizarding families, and Regulus used to join in when they were younger, before Sirius went to Hogwarts. It had been years since they had been together for Christmas, and Anila was taking advantage of it.

* * *

The boys soon came downstairs, dressed and ready for the day, if a bit tired yet. Sirius had told them that Anila would want to watch them open gifts, so they hadn't opened any yet, deciding to wait until after breakfast. The friends greeted each other cheerfully, Anila being pulled into Sirius's arms for an extremely tight hug. They made their way out of the common room and down to breakfast, everyone happy that it was Christmas day at last. They reached the Great Hall without any issues, Anila skipping merrily down the hall in orange fuzzy slippers. They were about to sit down when Anila took off running, startling the entire group. They watched as she collided with Regulus, nearly knocking him off of his feet. She then grabbed Snape as he entered the hall, pulling him into a hug. Much to the group's surprise, he hugged her back, smiling at the energetic girl. Anila led both Severus and Regulus over to the Gryffindor table, much to the astonishment of everybody in the Great Hall. Anila simply plopped down beside Sirius and pulled Regulus down beside her, then motioned for Snape to sit down by Regulus. Anila started eating, then realized how quiet her friends were being. She pulled out her wand discreetly, aimed carefully, then flicked it. The group looked up at the head table in alarm as they heard a commotion coming from it, then burst into laughter.

Professor McGonagall's robes had turned red with green Christmas trees on them, Professor Binns was actually laughing at Professor Flitwick's now spiky hair-do, and Professor Dumbledore was admiring his beard, which was now green and orange tie dyed. The Marauders, along with Lily, were surprised to hear both Severus and Regulus laughing at the display. Severus had tears of joy streaming down his face, and Regulus was bent over the table, laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath. Sirius hadn't seen his brother laugh like that in years. The group jumped when they noticed that Professor Binns had made his way over to them.

"Ms. Mandara, how nice to see that you still have a bit of mischief to you."

Anila grinned at him.

"Of course, Professor. By the way, I re-designed your gravesite."

She pulled a piece of parchment out of her robes and laid it out on the table. Professor Binns smiled at her, surprising the others.

"Thank you, it looks brilliant."

"Thanks, Professor. Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas, all of you."

Anila's friends wished him the same as he floated back to the head table, all of them somewhat shocked. Sirius and Regulus both turned to Anila.

"He is the Professor that I chat with the most often. He knows some truly fascinating things about the wars, as well as other things from that time period. You just have to get him going."

"We've listened to him for years now, how on earth does one 'get him going'?"

Anila smiled at James.

"Quite simple actually. Make him feel as though he isn't any different. He didn't realize he was dead at first, but after a while he figured it out, and people wouldn't quit either mocking him or falling asleep in his classes. I, on the other hand, take notes, as well as visit him after classes so I can ask questions. He's actually quite nice."

She turned back to her meal and continued eating.

Regulus cleared his throat nervously.

"Sirius, the strangest thing happened to me this morning."

Sirius looked up, shocked that his brother was speaking to him.

"Did it?"

"Yes. I was sleeping in my dorm room when I was tossed out of bed by a jet of water. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"

The brothers knew that only Anila could have pulled something like that off.

"Sorry, I honestly can say that I did not do it."

"Very well."

Anila was doing a rather splendid job at keeping a straight face. There was silence for a moment, then both Regulus and Sirius sprung into action. Anila squealed as Sirius grabbed her and Regulus started tickling her, all three of them laughing. They stopped after a few minutes, Anila still giggling as she tried to settle down. Regulus and Sirius were grinning, the remaining Marauders were gaping, and Lily was smiling, but the most surprising reaction came from Severus. He chuckled softly before continuing to eat his breakfast. Anila grinned at her cousins, overjoyed that the two brothers had worked together again without complaint.

* * *

Anila had given both Regulus and Severus a present after breakfast, then hugged them tightly as she wished them a Happy Christmas. The Gryffindor friends went back to their dorms to grab presents, deciding to open them in the common room. Everyone was waiting for Anila when she staggered out of the girls dorm, her arms laden with both her gifts and the gifts she had for her friends. She carefully made her way down the stairs and over to the fireplace. She set the presents on the floor, then passed them out since everyone else had exchanged gifts already, even if they hadn't opened them. Then, everybody tore in.

James was particularly thrilled to get a new set of goggles for rainy Quidditch matches. Peter immediately dug into his collection of Muggle sweets, and Sirius pulled Anila into a hug when he opened his present to find an album collection featuring some of his favorite Muggle artists. Lily was inspecting the new stationary set she had received, and Remus was...staring at his unopened present. Sirius nudged him.

"What's wrong, Moony?"

"What if she got me something related to 'Wolfy'?"

"She wouldn't. She can pick up on emotions better than you might think."

Remus opened his present very slowly, dreading what he would find inside. Much to his surprise, he didn't find chocolate, or even a book.

There were more than a dozen drawings in a solid oak box. Remus looked over each drawing carefully, amazed at the amount of detail in each one. He eventually reached the last drawing and gasped.

It was of him. Well, it was actually of the entire group, but it wasn't a scene that had ever happened before. Lily was wearing blue floor-length dress robes, dancing with James, who was wearing dress robes of a darker shade of blue. Peter was chatting with Sirius, each wearing dress robes that were dark green and deep red, respectively. Anila was wearing dress robes of a bright orange shade, and Remus himself was wearing black dress robes and appeared to be dancing with Anila. Everybody in the picture looked incredibly happy, each person seemingly not having a care in the world. Remus set the pictures back in the box and turned to Anila.

"Thank you."

She didn't say anything. Rather, she crawled into his lap and stayed there for a while.

All Remus could think about for the rest of the day was that he was so lucky to have friends like his.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from hasani. net. phtemp celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 11

School started back up again, making the group of friends rather glad that they had done their homework over break. The professors were piling it on, and the Marauders had stopped pulling pranks for a while in an attempt to keep up. The friends studied together every evening, meeting in the boys dorm for some quiet in which to work. Soon, spring made itself known with warm, humid air, but they never had enough energy to wander down to the lake. One evening, Lily had stayed with the boys to discuss some notes with Remus after Anila had gone to bed. She finally understood the material, and said goodnight to the boys. As she was leaving James pulled off his shirt and ran after her.

"Lily."

She turned, then immediately averted her eyes.

"What is it, Potter?"

"I was just wondering if you could tell me what Anila drew on my back? I still haven't figured it out, and I didn't want to ask the boys because Sirius might be disappointed that he didn't get a drawing..."

Lily nodded.

"She traced around your vertebra with the red marker, then drew the Gryffindor mascot in yellow on each one. Goodnight, James."

"Goodnight, Lily."

As he watched her go, James couldn't help feeling thrilled that she had actually used his first name for once.

* * *

The teachers had eased up slightly on the amount of homework that they were assigning, and both students and staff were starting to relax in the absence of a prank by the Marauders. So, the boys decided that they had to do a small one, just to let off some was wandering around the school, having finished her last class for the day. She turned a corner, and was about halfway down the hall when she heard yelling and laughter, then a series of bangs. She didn't have time to move aside as four boys with Gryffindor emblems on their robes came tearing around the corner, one with long black hair knocking her to the ground without a second thought. She felt a sharp pain in her knee, and nearly started crying. Filch came around the same corner that the boys had, stopping when he saw her. He approached and took her arm.

"Up ya get now. One, two, three..."

He helped her to her feet, then steadied her.

"Did ya see who did it?"

Anila stared into his eyes, then turned away, trying not to cry.

"I can't say."

Mr. Filch nodded.

"More of your loyalty, lass?"

Anila nodded, thinking that if she spoke, she would , most people would be surprised to learn, actually wasn't an entirely bad man. He was honest, and worked hard. If he had been a wizard, he likely would have been a Hufflepuff in school, but instead, he was a Squib. Most students didn't understand how hard it was to know about magic, to grow up around it, just to find out that you didn't have it. His older sister was a witch, but he was stuck in a world that he never truly felt accepted in.

Then, Anila had come to had visited before the term started, just so she could become acquainted with the professors and other staff members, as well as talk to them about her condition. Filch had been dreading the time when he would meet her, but was pleasantly surprised was waiting around a corner to wipe up the dirt and mud she would undoubtedly track in, along with whatever her mother tracked in. He immediately inspected the floor once they had walked through, but couldn't find any dirt at all. He was still looking by the end of their visit, scratching his head and pondering where the dirt had gone. They were just walking out the door when Anila turned to him and tapped his shoulder. He looked at her, and she held out a bottle of potion. He took it rather hesitantly, then read the note attached to it.

'Dear Mr. Filch,I saw you hiding around the corner when we first walked in, and I saw you checking the floor, so I do hope that we didn't track anything in. This potion is one I brewed, and it's particularly good at cleaning up messes of various sorts. As much as I like being outside, I don't like tracking it inside, so I figured that you might get some use out of this. Hope to see you this coming term! I'm more than willing to help clean for a bit if I get the time, it helps me clear my mind. Good day.  
Anila Mandara'

He had smiled at her, then waved as she followed her mother out of the castle. The potion she had given him actually cleaned several messes that he had been fighting with for ages. She had, in fact, visited him several times once the term had started, happily chatting with him about anything and everything, except for magic. She seemed to know what he was feeling, and could easily diffuse his short temper by either talking with him, or doing a bit of magic that he could remember his sister doing when they were younger. Filch understood that Anila was loyal to those she deemed worthy of her trust, so he didn't push when she refused to tell him who the culprits of the dropped dungbombs were.

"It's alright, lass. Let's get your knees bandaged up, then I'll clean up the mess."

Anila shook her head and held up her wand.

"Let me do it?"

Filch hesitated, then helped the girl over to the hall where the dungbombs had been set off.

"Scourgify!"

The mess was cleaned up, but the smell remained. Anila pulled a spray bottle out of her robes and tapped it with her wand. A nice, flowery smell now filled the hall, the stench having finally gone away. Filch smiled at her, then helped her down to his office. He cleaned and bandaged her scraped knees, then bid her good day.

* * *

Anila had made her way back to Gryffindor tower, and up to the girls dorm, where she found Lily and Alice. They both looked up, ready to greet her cheerfully, and frowned. Anila had tears streaming down her face, and they could see the bandages on her knees.

"Anila, what happened?"

She shook her head.

"Do you want me to get Sirius?"

Another shake of her head, more certain this time.

"What can we do to help you?"

"No tell any students."

Both Alice and Lily agreed not to tell any of their schoolmates.

"Want Regulus."

Lily nodded.

"Alright, let's go see if Professor McGonagall can help."

Anila took Lily's hand and followed her from the room, both saying goodbye to Alice on their way out.

* * *

McGonagall had immediately contacted Professor Slughorn, asking him to send Regulus to her office. They sat down to wait, Anila wincing as the movement sent a pang through her knees. Regulus soon entered the room, looking rather confused.

"Professor?"

"Anila needed to see you."

Regulus turned instantly.

"What's wrong, Anila? Why are your knees bandaged up?"

Anila shook her head.

The students left, saying goodbye to McGonagall on their way out of her office. Lily made sure that Anila was okay to stay with Regulus before leaving, knowing that she only wanted to speak with him right then. The two cousins walked in silence, Regulus supporting Anila so walking would be less painful.

"It was Sirius."

Regulus immediately looked over at her. For Anila to use Sirius's full name instead of 'Siri' was rare, and showed just how hurt she truly was.

"What did he do?"

"No tell anyone."

Regulus promised.

"He, with the Marauders, dropped something in the hall...I think Mr. Filch called it a dungbomb?"

Regulus nodded, used to his cousin not knowing about stuff from Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.

"I was taking a walk when they ran past, and Sirius...knocked me over."

Regulus tightened his grip around the girl's shoulders, but remained silent.

"He didn't even stop to see if I was alright! He just kept going, all of them did! I don't care whether they recognized me or not, they should've stopped to check if I was alright."

Regulus sighed.

"I'll talk to him at dinner. Gryffindor house isn't exactly fond of me, but you sitting with the Slytherins would be disastrous."

They slowly made their way down to dinner, both feeling more than a little angry.

* * *

The Marauders were laughing over the prank they had pulled on Filch, unaware that the mess was already cleaned up, and the smell completely gone. Anila walked into the Great Hall with Regulus, much to Sirius's surprise.

"Hey, Windy."

Both he and his friends were surprised when he received a scowl in return. Regulus sat down, pulling Anila into the seat next to him.

"We need to talk about that stunt you pulled earlier."

"I don't know what you're talking..."

"Shut up. The stunt with the dungbombs."

Regulus was whispering, knowing that Anila hadn't turned the boys in.

"What about it?"

"You, in your attempt to make a quick getaway, knocked somebody down."

"And this concerns you because...?"

"Anila, show him your knees."

Anila stood and moved her skirt slightly. Sirius gasped.

"Windy, what happened to you? Who hurt you?"

Remus shut his eyes, feeling slightly sick. Regulus caught the movement.

"Ask Lupin, he seems to know."

Sirius turned to Remus.

"Moony, who did this to her?"

Remus swallowed.

"You ran into someone, remember? We were trying to get away and turned that first corner, you shoved someone to the ground. We didn't realize who it was then..."

The blood drained from Sirius's face.

"No..."

Regulus nodded.

"Yes. You are the one at fault for her injuries. I get that you want her to be okay with you again, but I can't force her. I'll try to help you, but she's the one you have to convince, not me."

Regulus stood to return to his table.

"By the way, all four of you ought to be begging for forgiveness. You may not have recognized her, but she recognized all of you, and never told Filch who dropped the dungbombs."

He turned and walked away.

Lily was chatting quietly with Anila, a comforting arm wrapped around her shoulders. Anila was eating somewhat quietly, only talking to Lily, though she did smile when Alice and Frank each gave her a hug. Sirius kept trying to talk to Anila throughout dinner, finally giving up when she walked out of the Great Hall. Sirius moved to go after her, but James pulled him back into his seat.

"You aren't going to be able to make her listen right now, Padfoot. She's more likely to hex you than forgive you."

Sirius sighed and turned back to his food.

"I know, Prongs, but she has never been mad at me before. It feels strange."

Remus, who appeared to be calmly eating his dinner, was actually thinking about how to make Anila happy again.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from hasani. net. phtemp celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 12

A week had passed since the Anila had talked to Sirius, and Lily could see that it was starting to wear on her. Anila was still awake when Lily went to sleep, and would be dressed by the time Lily woke up the next morning. Lily, growing worried as Anila's energy dwindled, went to Madam Pomfrey to ask for help.

"There isn't anything I can do. I gave her some potion, but I can't force her to drink the stronger version."

"Why not?"

"Doing so before she completely runs out will result in some rather...unpleasant side effects. Her powers would be her undoing. She nearly died when she was a little girl."

Lily gasped.

"How?"

"The young witch that was babysitting her panicked when she fell asleep. The fool thought she had passed out and forced the potion down her throat. Her ability to know whether someone is lying took a nasty turn and burned her a large portion of her body before the babysitter could get help. Her father had to heal her with his own powers..."

Madam Pomfrey turned to look directly at Lily.

"The ability to heal that runs through the Mandara line is one that heals well, but is very painful. Anila went through a lot of pain that night until her father had completely healed her, but he collapsed before he could relieve her pain. I'm not taking the risk of putting her through that ever again. The potion that she has will help her for a while, but giving her the stronger version could kill her."

Lily nodded and thanked her, walking towards the library in the hopes of finding something that could help.

* * *

Lily reached the library and immediately set to work, looking through any book that looked like it might possibly help. She learned that sleeping potions wouldn't do any good, and was about to give up when she ran into Remus. Literally.

"Lily! I'm so sorry."

Remus pulled her to her feet, looking rather concerned.

"It's alright, Remus. I'm just...distracted. I'm sorry that I ran into you."

Remus smiled at her.

"It's alright, I'm a bit distracted too."

Lily looked up into his eyes.

"Anila?"

His smile disappeared.

"Yeah..."

"How is Sirius holding up?"

Remus scoffed.

"He...isn't. He normally loves playing pranks, but he won't even stay in the room if someone suggests one. He still eats and sleeps, but it seems like he doesn't enjoy anything anymore. He doesn't smile, he can go from calm to angry in mere seconds...I'm worried about him. How is Anila holding up?"

Lily sighed.

"She's even worse. I'm fairly certain that she isn't sleeping at all. She picks at her food, and I think that she's going to collapse at this rate. Madam Pomfrey won't give her the stronger version of the potion she takes because it might kill her. I hate not being able to do anything!"

Remus wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe you could talk to her about it? She likes you, so maybe you can get her to listen."

Lily shook her head.

"I tried that already. Unless..."

Lily's eyes took on a somewhat disturbing gleam, enough so that Remus took a step back.

"Lily?"

"It's brilliant..."

Remus was completely baffled.

"What...?"

Lily grabbed his hand and began to pull him back to Gryffindor tower.

"Lily, what's going on?"

"You are the one she'll listen to. I just have this feeling..."

* * *

They reached their common room, so Lily released Remus and ran up the steps to the girls dormitory, soon returning with Anila.

Remus couldn't help staring. Anila had dark circles under her eyes that nearly screamed of getting very little sleep, if any, for the past week. Her hair was tangled, and she looked as though she had recently been crying. She wouldn't meet his eyes, or Lily's. Lily gave her a gentle nudge towards him, then left. As the portrait swung shut behind her, Remus sighed, sinking down onto a chair by the fire.

"He feels awful, you know?"

Anila didn't respond. Remus was silent for a moment, trying to think of what he could say to fix the mess.

"I feel awful, too. I'm so sorry that we knocked you over, and I'm sorry that we didn't stop to help you."

Anila took a few steps towards him and sank down onto a couch.

"It...it hurts."

She finally met his gaze.

"It hurts that my own cousin knocked me to the ground and didn't stop to see if I was alright. But...that isn't what hurts the most."

Remus gulped.

"What is?"

"The fact that my cousin was willing to knock down a completely innocent person and not stop to help them, stranger or not. I grew up looking to Sirius as a role model. Sure, he plays a lot of pranks, but I never knew that he was capable of causing another harm and not caring until he realized that they were family."

Remus felt his stomach twist with guilt as he watched tears stream down her face. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Remus spoke up.

"He did care."

Anila looked over at him.

"Sirius, he did care. Afterwards, while we were laughing about the prank, he mentioned that he wished he could've stopped to help the person that he knocked down. After he found out that it was you, he immediately started insulting himself, even saying that he was no better than his mother."

Anila had stopped crying, but she now looked somewhat angry. Remus shrank back in his seat, unsure of why she had become angry. She got to her feet, trembling with rage.

"This stops now. He knows better. He is not comparable to his mother, or to his father for that matter!"

She grabbed Remus's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Where are we going?"

"We are going to find Sirius so I can set him straight."

Remus allowed himself to be pulled out of the common room, wondering just how Anila planned on convincing Sirius that he was a good person.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from hasani. net. phtemp celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me!

Ch. 13

They eventually found Sirius by the lake, and Remus had yet to figure out what Anila was going to do. Peter saw them first, and hurried over to greet them.

"Anila, so good to see you..."

He trailed off as Anila stormed past him, Remus throwing him an apologetic look as he was dragged away. Sirius and James both leapt to their feet when they saw her, casting curious looks at Remus, who was both looking and feeling rather nervous.

"Windy, I'm so..."

"Shut it!"

Sirius's mouth snapped shut. Anila let go of Remus, which made him even more nervous. Anila glared at Sirius.

"You know better."

"What?"

"You KNOW better! You aren't anything like your mother! You know what, fine."

She brought her left hand up beside his face. He, and James, froze.

"If you are anywhere near as foul as your mother, say so. You won't get burned if it's true, remember? Though, if I were you, I would be absolutely certain that I was telling the truth."

Sirius opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to get the words out. Anila lowered her hand.

"I thought so."

She turned to walk away, only to stop when she felt arms around her knees.

"Please...I'm sorry..."

Anila carefully turned around, causing Sirius to release her. She knelt in front of him, locking his gaze with her own.

"You know better. Siri, please, don't think you're like her ever again."

Anila threw her arms around Sirius, clinging to him as his tears soaked into her hair. James carefully stepped around the pair, going to stand beside Remus. Peter soon shuffled over.

"Is she okay?"

Remus shook his head.

"She hasn't been sleeping much, and she practically never eats. Considering her disorder, I'm surprised she hasn't collapsed and earned another trip to the hospital wing."

James was still staring at Sirius and Anila.

"Will she be alright?"

Remus couldn't bring himself to smile.

"Considering Dumbledore's idea, I doubt it."

* * *

A little over a week later, things were back to normal. Anila had become close friends with Peter, and was more than willing to explain why his spells kept going awry. It was late on Saturday afternoon, and Anila was trying to help Peter with his homework. The other Marauders, along with Lily, Frank, and Alice, were watching in amusement as Peter messed up yet again.

"Peter, it's alright. I truly didn't like that shirt in that color anyways."

Anila, who had been wearing a pink shirt, was now wearing a green shirt. Sirius and James weren't bothering to hide their laughter, Lily was glaring at them, and Frank, Alice, and Remus were trying their best not to laugh. Peter flopped onto his bed.

"It's hopeless! I'll never figure this out!"

Anila sat beside him.

"Peter, you will! Just let me think for a minute."

Several long moments passed, during which Sirius and James were able to stop laughing. Anila finally stood, wand in hand.

"Remus, come here, please."

Remus stood, hoping that Peter wasn't going to be practicing on him. He rather liked the color his shirt was.

"Now, Peter. Watch carefully."

Anila turned to Remus and flicked her wand. Remus smiled when he looked down and saw that his shirt had turned into a jacket. Anila flicked her wand, reversing the spell. She looked over at Peter.

"Now, you try it on me."

Peter stood, raising his wand shakily. He flicked it, trying his best to imitate what Anila had done.

"For goodness's sake, Wormtail! That wasn't even close!"

Sirius and James were laughing, Sirius barely able to state the obvious. Anila's shirt had become shorter and lost its sleeves, leaving her in a tube top. Anila took a deep breath as everyone else in the room, excluding Peter, cracked up. Peter now looked ready to cry. Anila pulled him into a hug.

"I've figured out the problem. You were really close that time."

Peter pulled back slightly.

"You figured out what the problem is?"

Anila smiled.

"It's an easy mistake. It's also easy to fix. Are you ready to try again?"

Peter nodded.

"Alright, so, the problem wasn't entirely your fault this time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was partly my fault this time."

"How?"

"I was facing you when I tried teaching you the spell. You were following my movements, but you were following them backwards. Now, try again, this time flicking your wand in the other direction."

Anila stood in front of Peter, her arms resting at her sides. He raised his wand and flicked it, in the opposite direction of what he had before. He looked down at the floor immediately, preparing to be yelled at.

"Peter, look."

Peter didn't hear any anger in Anila's whisper, so he looked. The tube top was gone, a jacket in its place.

"I did it?"

Anila grinned. Peter couldn't help smiling back.

"I DID IT!"

He nearly tackled Anila.

"Thank you so much!"

Anila hugged him back.

"Of course. Now, try turning it back. Do you remember the spell?"

Peter nodded.

"Okay, let's try it. Same wand movement."

Peter flicked his wand, focusing on the silent incantation. Much to his surprise, the jacket turned back into a shirt. As Peter began to celebrate with Anila, Professor McGonagall came in.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, and Miss Mandara, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you."

Remus, already paler than normal due to the full moon, became white as a ghost. The group said goodbye to Alice and Frank, then followed McGonagall from the room.

* * *

"Come in, come in."

Professor Dumbledore opened the door of his office. The group filed in nervously, Remus already starting to feel sore because of the full moon that was going to be that evening. Once they were all seated, Dumbledore smiled kindly at them.

"You know why you are here, I believe?"

They nodded.

"Splendid. Now, Miss Evans, I would like you to wait in the hospital wing with Madame Pomfrey. She knows the situation, and understands why you will be there."

Lily nodded, looking scared, but determined.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Pettigrew, I would like you to do whatever you normally do, but with more of a focus on containment, if you catch my meaning."

The Marauders couldn't help feeling like Dumbledore knew more about him than he let on, especially when they saw the twinkle in his eyes.

"Mr. Lupin, you will be in the Shrieking Shack, just as you usually are."

Remus nodded, focusing on not being sick.

"And, finally, Miss Mandara."

Anila met Dumbledore's gaze calmly.

"You will be by the lake. Try your best to remain calm, though it will be understandable if you become nervous."

She nodded, her face unreadable. Dumbledore looked around at the group gathered in his room.

"It is time for you to go to supper, so I will see you all in the morning. Good luck."

The group left for supper, all except for Anila feeling somewhat nervous about the night ahead of them.

* * *

Things were going as planned so far. Lily had said goodbye to the group and headed to the hospital wing after supper. Anila had left for the lake soon afterwards. The Marauders had gone to the hospital wing, Remus leaving with Madame Pomfrey once they had gotten there. Sirius, James, and Peter, had waited until darkness had truly fallen before creeping down to the Whomping Willow. Peter transformed, then Sirius and James. Peter darted past the branches and touched the knot, freezing the tree. All three went into the tunnel, following it all the way to the Shrieking Shack.

Remus was in more pain than usual. The past few full moons had been less painful, with his friends distracting him. Tonight, the wolf was restless. It greeted the stag, dog, and rat, that entered the room more harshly than usual, wanting to leave soon. It could smell something on them, the scent of a creature that would make both it, and its human form, happy. It sprang towards the tunnel, eager to find the creature it could smell traces of on its animal friends. The stag led the way out of the tunnel, followed closely by the wolf. The dog came next, with the rat riding on its back.

Anila had eventually fallen asleep by the lake, still recovering from her fight with Sirius and the many sleepless nights that had accompanied that time. She woke to a wolf's howl, and stood up slowly, trying to remain calm. She could see the silhouettes of a stag, a dog, and a wolf, approaching her. As they drew closer, Anila could make out a rat on the dog's back. The wolf stopped and sniffed the air, then approached slowly. The stag and dog kept close to the wolf, ready to rescue Anila if needed. The wolf was about a foot away from Anila when it stopped, tilting its head to one side. Anila smiled, recognizing the movement as one that Remus made when he was trying to figure something out. She cautiously held out her left hand, keeping a tight grip on her wand with her right. The wolf stepped forward, closely followed by the stag and the dog. Anila held completely still as the wolf reached her, allowing it to sniff her hand. It then howled, startling the stag, dog, rat, and girl. It nudged the girl's hand with its nose. Anila slowly raised her hand so she could pet the wolf, causing its tail to wag happily. She grinned, then slowly lowered herself to the ground. The wolf flopped down beside her, its head in her lap. The stag and dog eventually laid down beside them, and Anila returned to petting the wolf. She drifted off to sleep with the wolf curled around her, and the other creatures drifted off soon after.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey went down to the lake early the next morning, wanting to wake the group and get them back inside before the other students woke up. She was carrying a change of clothes for Remus, knowing that he likely would have forgotten to remove the ones from the previous night before transforming. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the odd group by the lake. Peter, James, and Sirius were in a half circle around a naked Remus, who had his arms wrapped around Anila. Madam Pomfrey carefully stepped over Sirius, then gently shook Remus's shoulder. He woke slowly, clearly still exhausted from the previous night. He gratefully accepted the clothes from Madam Pomfrey, her turning around as he dressed quickly. She then moved to wake Anila, but Remus stopped her.

"If you could wake the guys while I wake her? Please?"

She nodded, not sure why he wanted to wake Anila, but deciding to humor the poor teenager. She started to wake the boys while Remus knelt next to Anila.

"Anila. Anila, it's time to wake up."

Madam Pomfrey whirled around, as did the boys she had recently woken, when they heard a rather strange squawk. Instead of waking up as Remus had expected, Anila had grabbed his sleeve and rolled over, pulling him down beside her. She now had her arms wrapped tightly around him, and he couldn't get free without possibly hurting her. As the boys laughed at Remus's new problem, Madam Pomfrey stepped forward to wake Anila. Before she had the chance to, the group heard a familiar voice that made Remus blush in embarrassment.

"Good morning. How are all of you...?"

Professor Dumbledore trailed off when he saw the predicament. Remus had given up on escaping until Anila woke up, figuring that it would be better if he didn't scare her. Sirius, James, and Peter had started laughing harder upon seeing Dumbledore. The headmaster finally chuckled.

"It appears that I was correct."

"May I ask what you were right about, Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled at Remus.

"Mr. Lupin, there isn't a scratch on her."

Remus looked over at his friends, who confirmed it.

"Now, let's wake Miss Mandara before a new bit of gossip spreads through the school."

He stepped over to Anila, tapping her on the shoulder. She woke up, immediately releasing Remus upon seeing him. She sat up quickly, looking around at the group.

"What happened?"

Her eyes met Remus's, since he had finally been able to turn and face her.

"It went well."

Anila looked at Sirius, who smiled at her. James did the same, adding a wink that made Anila grin. Peter nodded with a smile when Anila finally looked over to him.

"Let us go to the hospital room now, as I am sure Mr. Lupin is exhausted. Miss Evans is probably awake and waiting."

Anila sprang to her feet, then held out her hands to Remus. She pulled him to his feet, then draped his arm over her shoulders so he could lean on her. He smiled down at her, glad that she hadn't been harmed. The group slowly made their way back into the castle, glad that nothing had gone wrong.

* * *

Professor Dumbledore was correct. Lily was pacing back and forth in the hospital wing, looking rather nervous. As soon as the group walked in, she ran towards them, nearly tackling a rather elated James. She quickly released him, hurrying over to Anila once she had helped Remus lay down on a bed.

"Thank goodness, you're alright!"

Anila happily returned her hug, then sat down on the foot of Remus's bed. Remus, who was now exhausted to the point of no longer caring, tugged on her arm. She scooted farther up the bed, where she was pulled down beside her 'Wolfy'. She shrugged at the rest of the group, then scooted back into Remus, whose arms wrapped around her, holding her tight as the two friends fell asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. The names for the characters you do not recognize come from hasani. net. phtemp celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me! I am also NOT making money on this, it's just a way for my imagination to be exercised for a bit.

Ch. 14

Remus woke up feeling slightly confused. He was still somewhat sore from his transformation, but his left side had something warm and soft pressed up against it, helping to ease the pain a little bit. He opened his eyes, then smiled.

Anila was lying next to him, curled up against him with her head resting over his heart. She was making slight squeaking sounds as she slept, a smile on her face.

Remus stared at her for a few minutes, trying to figure out how he had been fortunate enough to find a girl that the wolf inside of him liked. He studied her face as she slept on, and he felt content to just lie there with her. After about ten minutes had passed, Remus heard someone clear their throat. He craned his head around, and saw Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, Mr. Lupin. Feeling better?"

"Yes, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled at him.

"How is Miss Mandara?"

Remus turned his gaze back to the girl.

"I think she is doing well, she was still asleep when I woke up."

Dumbledore walked over and sat in a chair beside the hospital bed.

"I am here, Remus, because I wanted to talk to you about last night."

Remus nodded, slightly nervous. Anila fidgeted in her sleep, managing to throw one arm around Remus in the process.

"I believe that Miss Mandara's scent is calming to the wolf, and I was wondering what your thoughts were on the matter."

Remus considered for a moment.

"I think...that she does help. I don't know if it's her scent, or if the wolf just doesn't view her as food or an enemy, but I don't seem to get injured as badly when the wolf runs into her."

A memory of the night before came back to him.

"Last night, the wolf was restless, and as soon as I left the Shrieking Shack, it headed towards the lake. Towards Anila."

Remus smiled as Anila tightened her grip around him and muttered something that sounded like 'My Wolfy'.

"I remember that she was scared at first, but the wolf let her pet him, then laid his head in her lap."

Remus looked into Dumbledore's eyes.

"I think that she is the only person who could manage something like that without being attacked."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Thank you, Remus. I had best be going, Madame Pomfrey wants to check on you."

The headmaster stood and left, allowing Madame Pomfrey to hurry over and start checking on Remus.

* * *

Madame Pomfrey, despite seeing that Remus wasn't injured, insisted that he had to stay until dinner. Anila had slept through her checking on Remus, and was still fast asleep come lunch time. Remus didn't want to wake her, but he knew that she would need something to eat, so he gently shook her shoulder. She woke up with a start.

"Hey, easy, it's just me."

Bright blue eyes met Remus's, and he smiled kindly at her. Anila relaxed, giving Remus a hug.

"Hi, Wolfy. How are you?"

"I'm alright, Anila. How are you?"

She let out a rather large yawn.

"I'm good."

Her eyes started to drift shut again. Remus nudged her.

"Hey, I know you're tired, but you need to eat lunch before going back to sleep, alright?"

Anila nodded, blinking rapidly in an attempt to stay awake. The pair jumped as the curtains flew shut around their bed, relaxing when they realized it was Madame Pomfrey who had shut them, shielding them from the gaze of a student who was now entering the room. The student left shortly afterwards, but the curtains remained shut. The two friends began to eat their lunch, and Remus was somewhat amazed that he hadn't realized how entertaining Anila could be. She was in the middle of telling a story about how she had helped Regulus and Sirius pull a prank on their mother. Remus had tears streaming down his face, and was clutching his sides as he laughed. Anila was grinning as she told the tale, and would occasionally giggle whenever Remus snorted in laughter.

"She still hasn't found out that it was us!"

Remus was laughing so hard that he nearly fell off of the bed before Anila grabbed his arm and pulled him back from the edge. The pair eventually calmed down, and Remus suddenly felt an odd urge to smooth her hair back from her face. He kept his eyes locked on hers, taking care to move slowly so he wouldn't scare her. She held still, allowing him to tuck the strands of hair behind her ear. He didn't stop there though. He stroked her hair, and she let him, simply gazing into his eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Thank you."

She said nothing for a moment, then responded.

"For what?"

Remus swallowed.

"Last night. You really helped keep the wolf calm, and you have no idea how much that means to me."

Silence. Remus was about to pull his hand back from her hair when she spoke.

"I don't know what it means to you, not exactly. However, I do know that having someone with you during a difficult time, someone who isn't going to run from you, helps."

Remus was trying to puzzle out how she had learned this when she sighed.

"When the, incident, with Regulus happened, I was terrified of myself. Regulus, was in too much pain to really be fearful, but Sirius could have run from me, or hurt me for harming Regulus. He didn't though. All he did was grab Regulus's hand and talk to him as I healed him, then gave me a hug. That was it. No glaring, no yelling, no threats or bodily harm. He gave me a hug."

There were tears streaming down her face now.

"Having someone who stands beside you, even when they're afraid, can mean the world."

* * *

Remus was granted permission to leave the hospital wing that evening, just after dinner, so he climbed the stairs to the common room with Anila beside him. They were mostly silent as they walked, and Remus wasn't sure if he had accidentally offended her or if she was just thinking things through. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and before Remus could give the password, Anila grabbed him, pulling him into a rather tight hug and kissing his cheek. She released him, blushing, and hurriedly gave the password. She was in the common room before the door had fully opened, and he quickly followed as soon as he could, only to see her already halfway up the stairs to the girls dormitory. He sighed, then slowly made his way up to his room, where he knew the other Marauders would be waiting.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. Most of the names for the characters you do not recognize come from hasani. net. phtemp celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me! I am also NOT making money on this, it's just a way for my imagination to be exercised for a bit.

Ch. 15

Sirius was sprawled out on his bed. James was hanging halfway off of his bed, staring at him from his rather odd, upside-down point of view. Peter was sitting up on his bed, staring at his textbooks with a look of horror, and sucking on a sugar quill. Remus picked his way through the slightly messy dorm room to sit beside Peter, hoping that Sirius wouldn't kill him if Peter was right by him. Peter was the first to realize that something had happened, quite possibly because he was close enough to hear Remus's nervous swallow.

"You alright?"

James sat up properly on his bed, while Sirius rolled onto his side on his own bed. Remus sighed.

"I...guess so?"

_Thank goodness for James_.

The bespectacled boy had gotten up and come to sit beside him.

"What's going on, Moony?"

Remus twined his hands together, trying to figure out the right words to describe what had happened (preferably without upsetting Sirius).

"I...You know how I'm always exhausted after a transformation?"

His three friends nodded.

"Well...I wasn't as tired as usual this time, and since Anila was there..."

He trailed off, trying to decide how to proceed. Unfortunately, Sirius's mind jumped to a conclusion that angered him a lot.

"You did WHAT!?"

Remus had never been more thankful that James played Quidditch, especially since it improved his already rather good reflexes. As Sirius leapt towards Remus, presumably to kill him, James caught him and pulled him away.

"We only talked! Sirius, I wouldn't do that with anybody if I wasn't dating them to begin with, you know that!"

Sirius stopped struggling, flopping onto Peter's bed beside Peter when James let go of him.

"Sorry, mate, but I'm so used to having to protect her that I get a bit irritated at the thought of someone doing that with her; and when you didn't answer, my mind connected the dots between you two, in a bed together, little to no supervision..."

Remus nodded.

"It's alright, Padfoot. I...James?"

James looked over at them from his bed.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind grabbing Padfoot?"

As Sirius started to ask what was going on, James grabbed him and held on. Remus crossed the room, hoping that James could stall Sirius long enough for him to flee the tower.

"Padfoot, in front of the portrait; your cousin, she..."

He swallowed, preparing to run.

"She what?"

Remus met Sirius's eyes.

"She kissed my cheek."

Sirius didn't say anything for a moment. Then, to the surprise of the whole group, he burst out laughing. James, fearing that Sirius had cracked (in all fairness, Remus and Peter were thinking the same thing), didn't let go of him. As Sirius calmed down, his friends continued to stare at him, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Moony..."

Sirius took a deep breath.

"I'd rather her kiss you on the cheek than some random bloke who has my dating habits or something, honestly. Besides, her trusting anyone to _that_ extent? Moony, you've made one heck of an impression on her."

Remus frowned.

"When you say 'her trusting anyone to _that_ extent', you don't mean she...that she's never..."

Sirius cut him off.

"She's never been kissed to the best of my knowledge. The fact that she trusted you not to harm her not only shows that she's growing up now that she has gotten away from home, but also that you've done something that caught her attention."

Peter chuckled at this. When his friends turned to look at him, he turned slightly pink.

"'...You've done something that caught her attention'? Is that _including _saving her, or not?"

James started to laugh first, unable to help himself as he thought about it. Peter joined in, along with Sirius, but Remus was silent for a moment.

_A monster that saved her, then turned out to be in classes with her? I guess that WOULD be a rather strong attention getter. _

Remus started laughing with his friends.

* * *

The next morning found Anila sitting at the Hufflepuff table during breakfast. Karis Strachan, a Hufflepuff girl who was nearly impossible to alarm, sat beside the friend that she had made near the beginning of the school year, listening attentively as Anila explained why exactly she had kissed Remus Lupin's cheek the night before. At least, she was trying to explain.

"I don't get why I did it!"

Anila's head flopped onto the table with a _thump_, narrowly missing her plate of food that Karis had moved just in time. Karis patted her on the back.

"Maybe you just feel closer to him because he gets you?"

When Anila sat up and looked at her, Karis smiled.

"Think about it, he does seem to understand how you think about the world. You even said that he somehow got you to eat after your last collapse, which Sirius couldn't do."

Karis set her fork down and leaned backwards on her bench seat, her short brown hair barely brushing the floor in spite of the fact that the upper half of her body was now upside-down. She motioned for Anila to join her, continuing only when Anila was also half upside-down.

"You just have a connection with the bloke. Surely that isn't a bad thing?"

Anila thought for a moment.

"I guess it isn't..."

The two girls sat up, Karis patiently fixing the slight mess that Anila's hair had become.

"What do I do about Sirius though?"

Karis frowned, an unusual expression on this particular Hufflepuff's normally eternally happy face.

"How do you mean?"

Anila fidgeted.

"Well...He's one of Sirius's best friends, and...I just don't want to cause any problems, you know?"

Karis's frown disappeared, her sunny expression causing the corners of Anila's mouth to twitch up slightly.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you weren't placed in the wrong house."

Ignoring the strange look that she received, Karis continued.

"Loyal, hard-working...I guess you just have a lot of Gryffindor stuff to overcome your Hufflepuff stuff."

Anila leaned against Karis's shoulder, smiling when the girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Are we going to Hogsmeade today?"

Anila sat up.

"Sounds good to me. One thing though...Can we maybe..."

Karis's boisterous laugh, one that seemed like it shouldn't be able to come from such a lithe body, echoed across the Great Hall as she caught on to Anila's meaning.

"Anila, you do realize that..."

Karis's voice dropped to a whisper.

"That you are one of the few girls in this school attempting to avoid gaining the romantic attentions of one of the Marauders."

Anila stuck up her nose in a manner that she had seen her Aunt Walburga do, looking rather snobbish as a result.

"I do not wish to avoid his romantic attentions."

She dropped the overly-prim tone of voice for her next statement, now looking rather ashamed.

"I just want to avoid embarrassing myself in front of him again."

Karis stood, grabbing Anila's arm and hauling her to her feet.

"Come on, we're going to do something fun."

Anila allowed herself to be pulled along by Karis, having accepted within the first few days of knowing the Hufflepuff girl that she was a greater force of nature than Sirius and James combined.

_Now that I think about it, I'd better not tell either of them that..._

* * *

"I look ridiculous."

Karis giggled.

"Sorry, I agree with you on this one."

The girls were shopping in Hogsmeade, and Karis wanted Anila to buy one new outfit for the dance. So far, things hadn't been going very well. Anila's irritated sigh drifted out from the dressing room as she struggled out of the latest dress-disaster.

"I really don't see the point in this, I mean, it isn't like anybody is going to ask me to the dance anyways."

The next dress that Karis found for Anila to try on flew over the door of the dressing room and landed on Anila's head.

"Hey!"

"You will be going to this dance, with or without a date. I will drag you there in your pajamas if I have to, but you will be there!"

Anila pulled on the dress that had landed on her head.

"I think that I would prefer to go in my pajamas right about now."

"I'm sure that he would prefer that too, dear, but I am also sure that it would be against the dress code."

The Marauders walked in at that point, and Karis hurriedly waved them over, motioning for them to stay quiet. Karis had a large grin spread across her face as she continued talking to Anila.

"Besides, he'll appreciate it more if you dress up, that's the kind of guy he is."

The Marauders exchanged confused looks until they heard Anila's voice drift out from behind the dressing room door.

"You've never met him, remember? How could you know what he will appreciate me wearing to the dance?"

"Doesn't matter, I've called in reinforcements!"

Pause.

"Who?"

Karis nudged Sirius.

"Hey, Windy!"

"Siri?"

Sirius smirked as he leaned against the wall beside the door.

"Who else do you know that is allowed to call you Windy?"

The door swung open, revealing Anila in a bright yellow and green monstrosity. Karis started laughing as Anila turned to her cousin.

"Fair point. Now, being 100% honest, tell me what you think about this dress."

Sirius studied the dress.

"Let me put it this way, if you were my daughter, I would buy that dress for you to wear to the dance."

Anila stared at her cousin.

"Why does that sound like a bad thing?"

James and Peter were laughing next to a smirking Remus. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Because this dress is quite possibly vivid enough that it could light every corner of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade on a rainy day without any help."

Anila looked down at the dress thoughtfully.

"So it isn't just me..."

She went back into the dressing room, muttering to herself about pointless tasks and trying not to freak out over Remus being there.

Sirius shook his head as Karis started towards a rack of dresses.

"Try finding one towards the cash register. I just have a feeling..."

As Karis took off towards the dresses near the cash register, Anila sat down on the bench inside her dressing room.

"Siri? Are you still out there?"

"Yeah."

"Would you mind helping me color my hair for the dance?"

Sirius stood up straighter outside of the dressing room.

"Don't you want to be remembered as yourself? It is our last year at Hogwarts, after all."

Anila fidgeted on the bench.

"I know, but..."

James and Remus dragged Peter away to find Karis, knowing that this conversation was a bit personal.

"But you don't want to be stuck as yet another girl with one color of hair, you want something that shows your personality."

"Yeah."

Sirius decided that he had to ask his cousin.

"Hey, who were you talking to Karis about earlier?"

"Um..."

Sirius waited patiently.

"Siri? Would you please keep it a secret?"

Sirius smiled.

"Of course."

"Well, it's...we were talking about...Wolfy."

Sirius had to strain to hear the name.

"Really?!"

"Please don't tell him! I'm already embarrassed enough, I'm just going to go to the dance alone and see if anybody wants to dance with me, just please don't tell him!"

Anila was breathing heavily by the time she was through. Sirius chuckled.

"I'm not going to tell him, calm down. You need to find a dress before we figure out what color to change your hair to."

Karis came over, weighed down by dresses.

"Anila? I need you to open the door a bit so I can give you this pile, are you decent?"

The door opened and Anila removed the dresses from her friend's arms before shutting the door again. Sirius burst into laughter when he saw Peter scurrying over with a few dresses, closely followed by a smirking James and an eye-rolling Remus.

"Pete, I'm pretty sure that Karis can help Anila more than you can."

The door swung open, revealing Anila in a black dress that made Anila look ghostly white.

"Peter?"

She caught sight of him and hurried to take the dresses from him.

"Thank you!"

She hurried back into the dressing room, nudging the door shut with her foot. Sirius raised his eyebrows at Peter.

"Where did you find those, Wormtail?"

"By the cash register. Those three were looking at one rack, and I wandered over to the counter and the lady asked if she could help me find something for the dance. I explained that I wanted to help one of my friends find a dress that none of the other girl's would be wearing, and she pointed to a rack that was labeled 'one-of-a-kind'. I just picked through it for a bit."

The boys were staring at him, but Karis was staring at the dressing room door.

"Anila? Is everything alright in there?"

"I still can't find a dress that I like. I'm sorry, Karis."

"It's fine, just keep trying them on."

After about an hour, the boys and Karis had conjured up chairs.

"You guys can leave if you like, I'll wait for her."

The Marauders shook their heads.

"We want to make sure that her dress is nice, and won't get her dragged off by some Slytherin."

A delighted gasp from inside of the dressing room startled them.

"Oh my goodness!"

The door swung open to reveal Anila in a beautiful gown. The emerald green satin creation caressed Anila's pale skin, and gold threads crisscrossed over the skirt, only really noticeable when the lighting hit them at a certain angle. James shook his head.

"Slytherin."

Sirius agreed, but Peter spoke up.

"The threads on the skirt are gold. Gryffindor."

Sirius spluttered.

"Those threads are barely noticeable! Some Slytherin bloke is going to..."

He trailed off, remembering what had happened at the beginning of the school year. Remus had remained silent on the matter, but decided to intervene.

"Shouldn't it be up to Anila as to whether house colors matter in the selection of the dress that she will be wearing?"

The group turned to look at Anila, who was standing before the mirrors and lightly gripping the sides of the skirt with her slender fingers. Peter stepped forward, not wanting to wait for Sirius to talk Anila out of getting the dress.

"Anila?"

The young woman turned around and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

"It's magnificent, Peter. Thank you."

She stepped forward and hugged him, and he couldn't help smiling at her happiness.

"You're welcome."

Anila stepped back and turned to her cousin.

"I like, no, I love this dress. I don't care that it has Slytherin colors to it, I am wearing this one because it makes me feel wonderful when I wear it."

With that statement, the subject was dropped.

* * *

During the week leading up to the ball, Anila was one of the few students to get plenty of sleep. She went to bed early each night, hugging Sirius before climbing up the steps to the girls' dormitory. The night of the ball found her in the Hufflepuff dorms, chatting with Karis as they got ready for the dance. Anila patiently pulled a hairbrush through her own black locks, knowing that Sirius could help her put streaks of color through it at the last minute. Karis was attempting to paint her toenails while putting on mascara; she only managed it due to grabbing her wand and charming the nail polish brush to paint her toenails for her.

"And...done."

Karis whirled around to look at Anila.

"Anila, why aren't you wearing any makeup?"

"Because I blush easily enough on my own and red lipstick makes me look like I'm a vampire. I have no patience to try putting on mascara or eyeliner, and I figure that my hair will be colorful enough that I can avoid wearing eyeshadow. Thus, no makeup."

Karis smiled at her.

"Good. You shall stand out brilliantly tonight."

Anila laughed.

"That would be you, Karis. You look wonderful."

"Thank you, Anila. Now let's go see your cousin so he can charm your hair."

* * *

"Sit still!"

"This takes forever!"

Three of the Marauders and Karis were watching as the fourth Marauder attempted to charm Anila's hair. The problem was, he couldn't get her to sit still, which was making it very difficult to hold on to various sections of her hair. Lily came into the room, looking lovely in her blue gown that matched James's tie perfectly. Yes, Lily had (finally) agreed to go on a date with James.

"What on Earth is taking so long?"

James was gawking at Lily, seemingly speechless, so Remus spoke up.

"Anila won't sit still, so Sirius is having trouble charming her hair."

Lily laughed, looking over at Sirius and Anila, who were arguing about why the coloring of Anila's hair was taking so long. None of the group noticed Peter drawing his wand. He carefully aimed at Anila's hair and whispered the spell that he had heard Sirius repeating frequently throughout the evening, adding the detail that he had picked up from Anila muttering it after he himself had been hit with a hair color changing spell a few weeks before. Sirius jumped away from his cousin as he saw her hair change colors before his very eyes.

"Anila, your hair just..."

Anila hurried over to a mirror, bursting into surprised laughter when she saw what had happened. She spun around to face Peter.

"Thank you, Peter."

He grinned.

"No problem."

Peter smiled as Anila hugged him before she passed by. Lily smiled at the group.

"Let's join the party."

* * *

Upon reaching the Great Hall, Sirius and Karis each went off to find their dates. James spun Lily out onto the dance floor, leaving Anila, Remus, and Peter to figure out what they wanted to do. Soon, a seventh-year Ravenclaw girl dragged Remus away. Anila turned to Peter.

"Can we dance? Please?"

Peter nodded, following Anila out onto the dance floor. Some of their classmates stared, their faces twisted in disgust as Anila allowed Peter to place his hand on her waist. Anila squeezed the hand that held hers; feeling rather annoyed with her schoolmates that seemed to be convinced that dancing with Peter would be some sort of punishment. As the next song started, Anila's eyes met Peter's, and she gave him a nod. Peter smiled as they started dancing; Anila being twirled gracefully across the dance floor by the boy that everyone seemed to think was unworthy of being near the other Marauders. This ought to shut them up. Looks of disgust shifted into ones of shock as their classmates realized that Peter was actually an excellent dancer. Peter kept dancing with Anila, not quite willing to approach any of their schoolmates, but she assured him that she was perfectly alright with being his dance partner.

* * *

It was all too good to last.

Two hours into the dance, and Sirius had been yelled at by his date, Remus had escaped from the clutches of the Ravenclaw girl, and Peter was tugging on James's arm, trying to explain why Anila was missing.

"Crabbe and Goyle grabbed her! I tried to stop them, but I couldn't, I'm sorry!"

James immediately hurried after Peter while Lily ran to inform Professor Dumbledore. They met a rather disheveled Sirius and relieved Remus on their way out of the school.

"What happened? Where's Windy?"

"Slytherins."

Sirius's face shifted into one of cool indifference, a habit he had picked up from his mother and father, which masked just how angry he truly was. Remus's face, on the other hand, showed every bit of his anger. The boys hurried out into the night, hoping to find Anila before any harm came to her.

* * *

Anila had come to the conclusion that her current predicament was one nearly identical to the one she had been in towards the beginning of the school year. Crabbe laughed as he held her arms behind her, allowing Goyle to slide his hand up under her skirt ever so slowly. Anila thrashed, trying to kick Goyle, to get him away from her, but it wasn't working.

"Such a pretty package, wrapped up in Slytherin colors for me..."

Anila snapped, her angry temporarily overriding her terror.

"You're a right stupid git! You don't even know your own house colors; they ought to be ashamed to have you in their house!"

Goyle removed his hand from where it had been creeping dangerously close to her underwear, standing upright to slap her across the face.

"You little bitch! How dare you question my right to belong to the only house that's worth being in!"

He glanced up at his friend and saw that his eyes had gone wide. Goyle turned around quickly, rolling his eyes and drawing his wand. Sirius was leading his fellow Marauders towards the two Slytherins, wand drawn and face indifferent. Remus was only half of a step behind him, looking furious. James followed the two, and Peter brought up the rear, looking panicky, but determined. Goyle laughed at them.

"What, are the idiots of the school here to save the pretty blood traitor? Of course, it would make sense since the idiots are all blood traitors. And to think, people actually thought that we had a chance to cure you, Black."

Crabbe and Goyle ignored the snap of a twig in the forest behind them, thinking that it was just a unicorn or something going past. The Marauders, however, gaped when they saw none other than Severus Snape emerge from the shadows, wand pointed at Crabbe. Anila, seeing her friends' startled expressions, relaxed her body, preparing to roll away from Crabbe as soon as she got the opportunity. Severus didn't have to say a word, he simply flicked his wand and Crabbe released Anila, falling forward as she rolled off to the side. Goyle, hearing the solid _thump_ of his friend falling to the ground, whirled around.

"Snape. Why the bloody hell would you help that piece of filth?!"

Severus kept his wand leveled at Goyle's chest.

"Believe it or not, that so-called 'piece of filth' is a close friend. I'm hardly going to stand here and watch you harm her."

"Harm her? Snape, I'm going to _help_ her. I'm giving her the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be pleasured as only a proper pureblood can!"

The growl that came from Sirius scared even James. Remus, however, was busy holding back a growl of his own. Severus still had his wand pointed at Goyle's chest.

"You're not going to harm her."

"You had your chance."

Goyle shrugged, raising his wand.

"Cru..."

He was cut off when he collapsed, hit by a stunning spell from Professor Dumbledore himself. Anila had yet to stand up; she was curled into a ball on the ground, trembling. When Dumbledore met her gaze with his own, she shifted, turning into a hummingbird and flitting away.

"Anila! Anila, wait!"

"Leave her be, Sirius. She needs some time to collect herself. You'll see her in my office."

Professor McGonagall arrived with Lily. Lily went straight to James while McGonagall levitated the two unconscious Slytherins.

* * *

When the group reached the office, the two professors bound the Slytherin boys to their seats. Dumbledore opened the window before sending an owl to inform Fudge, Mr. and Mrs. Goyle, Mr. and Mrs. Crabbe, and Udayana and Adler Mandara, of the incident. Anila was still gone, and the Marauders were telling Lily what had happened. Severus merely sat in his chair, staring out the window, and shooting nasty looks at Crabbe and Goyle. McGonagall left, soon returning with Slughorn, who looked rather surprised to see two members of his house tied to their seats in a state of unconsciousness.

"Albus, what in Merlin's name is going on here?"

"Horace, please wait until the Minister arrives, along with the parents of those involved. All will be explained then."

Slughorn eased himself onto a chair, gazing at the Gryffindors and Snape rather curiously. Snape ignored the arrival of his Head of House; his gaze was still locked on the open window. The other conscious students jumped when the flames in the fireplace turned green; The Goyles stepped out, soon followed by Mr. and Mrs. Crabbe. Professor Dumbledore took them to the side, explaining what he had been told before he had arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The flames in the fireplace turned green again; this time it was Cornelius Fudge who stepped out of the fireplace, looking rather upset. The door of the office burst open moments later, revealing Adler and Udayana. Adler looked angry, Udayana looked indifferent, and Sirius leapt from his chair and took several hurried steps away from his aunt.

"Sirius, where is she?"

He winced at the monotonous tone of his aunt's voice, knowing that she was attempting to hide just how angry she was.

"She flew off. Turned into a h-hummingbird and f-f-flew off."

The other conscious students stared at him in shock; none of them had ever heard Sirius stutter before. More chairs were conjured by Professor Dumbledore; and the adults took their seats, looking rather grim.

The explanations from each student took a long time to get through, partially due to a now-conscious Crabbe and Goyle shouting their protests at the punishment that Dumbledore suggested Fudge give them. Snape had told the group what he had seen, heard, and done; he then returned to gazing out into the night. Nobody except for Severus and Dumbledore noticed when a hummingbird flew through the open window. The others only noticed it when it began to hover in front of Lily.

"Windy..."

Sirius's tone was one of relief. Lily studied the feathers of the hummingbird more closely, realizing that the tail feathers were streaked with black.

"Anila?"

The hummingbird flitted over to Severus, landing on the floor beside him. The wings grew longer and lost their feathers as the body lengthened, and soon Anila was back in her human form, whimpering in pain. Severus dropped to his knees beside her, resting his hand on her shoulder, and whispering reassurances that the rest of the group could not hear. Sirius came over, kneeling beside her and taking her hand.

* * *

Adler was the first to notice that something was amiss.

"Anila? Sweetpea?"

Anila lifted her face to look at her father, and the rest of the group was shocked. Anila's normally pale face was now bright white, and there were red lines crisscrossed over her face and down her neck. Adler knocked Sirius and Severus out of the way, pulling Anila over to the window. Her breathing was shallow, and her father could tell that this new development in her powers would be a powerful one. Anila scooted on the floor, twisting herself around to face the open window. She raised a shaking hand, trying to pull a little bit of wind towards her. She succeeded in pulling in a gust that knocked her father away from her, and she started to drag herself towards the window. As most of the group either called out to her or stared in shock, Remus stood and approached her, wrapping himself around her, and taking care to whisper something quietly enough that only she could hear.

"Use me instead."

Anila's fingers dug into Remus's arms, sure to leave bruises behind.

"Belt...need belt..."

Remus hurriedly removed his belt and held it out to her; she bit down on it in an attempt to muffle her screams as her body was filled by a massive ache that she could do nothing about. Remus did his best to ignore the pinpricks of pain that were occurring in his arms, each pinprick caused by Anila's fingernails digging into his flesh.

_The last time that Anila had had a harsh development had been when she gained the ability to pull the wind towards her. She had been 8 years old, and the pain that had accompanied the development of the power had caused her to pass out. Adler, used to seeing relatives pass out and passing out himself from developments in powers, had caught her before she could hit the floor. That time, was nothing compared to now._

Adler had no idea what power was currently developing within his daughter. He couldn't think of a single relative who had gone through something like this, and he was worried. The fact that his own daughter had knocked him away with a gust of wind, yet was allowing a boy he had never seen before help her, was a bit painful. However, Adler watched the boy, watched how he handled Adler's Sweetpea, and decided that it was a good thing that the boy was here. The young man was holding his daughter, not complaining about how hard she was gripping his arms, and not complaining about the ruin his belt was sure to become. Instead, he was gazing into Anila's eyes to the best of his ability; Adler somehow had the feeling that the two were communicating in a way that nobody else would ever understand. Adler then realized something. As his daughter's body thrashed, she had quit screaming, and he was certain that this young man was the cause. _And I'm alright with that. My little girl is growing up, and I'm okay with this young man's effect on her._

* * *

_**Remus and Anila were staring at each other. They were in a place that neither of them had ever seen, but they were content. Anila reached out and took Remus's hand, allowing herself to float in this mystical realm where they felt no pain. Remus floated beside her, his hand still in hers, and they continued to stare into each other's eyes. They floated through the starry realm, ignoring the pale purple hue that was the backdrop to thousands of stars, not worrying about what their friends and the adults would think. They didn't think here, they couldn't. They merely felt and acted, a situation that neither was familiar with. Releasing Anila's hand, Remus wrapped one arm around her waist, using his other hand to brush her hair out of her face. He leaned in slowly, feeling the slightest bit of worry that she would not want this, but her eyes were pools of hope and longing. Remus waited for one more minute, his heart swelling with joy at the look in Anila's eyes, and then he kissed her. He felt her eyelashes brush the skin of his cheek as her eyes fluttered shut, his shutting with a similar result to Anila. He felt her hands come up to his face, both caressing him. He felt as though he should have been scared, but he wasn't. He received no pain from Anila, and he knew that he had no reason to lie to her. Her power of knowing when someone was telling the truth weren't needed on him, he loved her too much to lie to her. They ended their first kiss, and Remus caressed her cheek with a once-scarred palm. They kissed once more before Anila took Remus's hand and led him to the ground; upon their landing, they were thrown from the mystical realm.**_

* * *

Both Anila and Remus jerked, coming back into their original surroundings with a start. Anila released Remus's arms, only to fall into them a moment later. Remus held her close to him, pressing his face into the curve of her neck. Anila's breathing evened out as she inhaled Remus's scent, one that had instantly calmed her multiple times over the past year. Remus's head came up from her neck, and he leaned in slowly to kiss her cheek. She smiled at him before looking around the room.

"Where'd they all go?"

Remus looked around Dumbledore's office, which was now devoid of any people except for them and the now snoring portraits.

"I dunno, maybe Dumbledore got them out of here."

They sat in silence, Remus running his fingers through Anila's hair and rubbing her scalp every so often.

"Anila?"

"Hmmm?"

"Where were we? I mean, we were here on the floor, and suddenly we were in that starry place..."

Anila shifted in Remus's arms, turning until she could face him.

"I...have a theory. I talked to my great-grandmother about how she met my great-grandfather, and she told me that she had a development in powers soon afterward, one that only she and my great-grandfather could experience."

Anila absentmindedly started playing with one of Remus's hands, still watching his face.

"She...Alright, please don't hate me for this."

"Anila, I don't know that I ever could hate you. You calmed the wolf inside of me; you didn't hate me when you learned what I am."

Anila's eyes were filled with tears as she met his gaze.

"My great-grandmother told me that she asked her grandmother the reasoning behind her development with my great-grandfather, and she said it was one that could only be passed to the women of the family. Dad doesn't know about it because the last female in the family before me was my great-grandmother."

Anila took a deep breath, hoping that she could say this without scaring Remus.

"This...power...it only occurs to women of my bloodline along my father's side that...find their true love."


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This story has mentions of near rape. If this may bother you, please DO NOT read this story. I don't want to make anyone upset. There also may be some swearing on occasion. If this will bother you, please avoid reading the story. Thank you. Now, if there's anyone left willing to read this, please leave a review and let me know what you think. Most of the names for the characters you do not recognize come from hasani. net. phtemp celestial .html Just take the spaces out. The names are on there, along with their meanings.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any characters that you recognize. I do not own any settings you recognize, I do not own any games you recognize. If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling, last that I knew. What I do know, is that it IS NOT MINE! I also do NOT own the names or their meanings. I do NOT own the website they came from either.

Basically, if you recognize it, it does NOT belong to me! I am also NOT making money on this, it's just a way for my imagination to be exercised for a bit.

Remus couldn't speak. The idea of Anila not only accepting his…_condition_, but finding her true love in him, was astounding. All Remus could do was stare at her, not taking her in as a whole piece of art, but many works that could fill a gallery. He continued to gaze at her, not quite realizing that Anila was still waiting for a response.

"Remus?"

The lycanthrope blinked rapidly, coming out of his dazed state to find Anila looking terrified.

"Anila! I…um…"

Anila stood, shaking her head.

"I get it. I'll stop hanging around you guys, I'm clearly not who you want."

She turned and started to walk away, not wanting him to see her tears.

"NO!"

Remus's shout woke all of the portraits in the Headmaster's office, as well as scaring Anila so badly that she nearly fell down as she turned around. Remus had leapt to his feet and was now a mere half step away from Anila.

"Anila…I…I don't deserve you. You know what I am. You…you come from a good family, and I'm not capable of providing for you…"

"Remus, we're still in school, you don't need to…"

"No! We're almost out of school, and after we graduate, you will need someone to take care of you."

Anila, finally having had enough of Remus's stupidity, grabbed his hands, pulling his arms around her. She clasped their hands behind her back, distracting him from his ranting.

"Remus. I don't need anyone to provide for me. I have enough saved up that I could not work for about twenty years and be living in a decent home. I don't want a luxurious life filled with the parties that I've spent nearly my entire life avoiding. I could ask my parents to set up a marriage for me if I truly believed that I wanted someone else, but I don't! You saved my life, and then brought me back from my melt down. Beyond that…you were just, _there_. You didn't try to pull me out of my shyness, but you were available if I needed to talk."

Anila raised her left hand up to Remus's cheek, shaking as she did so.

"If you don't like me, tell me. Just don't tell me it's because you aren't good enough, because you're worth more than any mansion-and-fancy-parties lifestyle."

Remus met her gaze calmly, until he realized that tears were starting to spill. He brought his own left hand up to wipe away the tear drops, wondering how he had gotten this lucky.

"I don't want to hurt you."

Anila shook her head.

"Don't make your decision based on me; make it based on how you feel. Either way, I'll go with it."

Remus, wanting to make the right decision, took a step back.

"Can I have some time?"

Anila nodded, not particularly surprised that her practical friend was asking for the time needed to make a calculated decision.

"Alright. I'll see you in class."

She walked out of Dumbledore's office, not noticing that Remus burst into tears as the door closed behind her.

* * *

None of the Marauders knew what to do. A week had passed since Anila had left Remus alone in Dumbledore's office, and she hadn't been hanging out with the group since. She would still talk with Lily, but Anila was seen more often with Karis. Karis wasn't one to ask questions, so she didn't know exactly what had happened between her friend and Remus Lupin.

The day, whose night would bring the month's full moon, was gifted with sunny skies and fluffy white clouds that reminded Lily of cotton candy, but white (this mention had resulted in a half hour long discussion of what cotton candy was; Lily and Remus attempting to describe the treat to Peter, James, and Sirius). The Marauders made plans for that night, and Anila made some plans of her own.

Three of the Marauders slipped down to the Whomping Willow late that night, under the folds of James's invisibility cloak. Peter became a rat and touched the knot as his two friends transformed; they entered the tunnel and hoped they could ease some of Remus's pain during his transformation.

The three boys soon learned that they couldn't help Moony.

Remus cried out in pain as his bones shifted position under his skin, fusing together as his skin began to sprout tufts of fur and his teeth became sharper. The shifting was nearly complete when a newcomer drew the attention of the Marauders. Anila walked into the heavily scarred room of the Shrieking Shack in her human form, looking rather upset. She stood there, refusing to let James or Sirius remove her, and waited for Remus to pick up her scent. The group looked on in terror as Moony sniffed the air, his nose twitching as he picked up a variety of scents that only Padfoot could register in the same way. He let out a loud howl, causing the entire group to jump, before approaching Anila. She held out her left hand, gripping her wand inside her pocket with her right. Moony slowly approached, sniffing her hand when he finally reached her.

"Hey, Wolfy."

Her greeting was met with a snort, making her think that Remus would have been laughing if he had been in his human form. Anila stroked the fur on Moony's back, earning the happy panting that Padfoot usually did when she petted him. The other Marauders began to relax when they saw that Moony was content now that Anila was here, curling up in different areas on the floor. Moony gently gripped Anila's shirt sleeve in his teeth, tugging her over to Padfoot and laying down. She curled up between the two, kept comfortably warm in the chilly room by the warm breaths and soft furs of the two canine-like versions of her cousin and friend.

* * *

Remus woke to the sight of a mass of black hair in front of his face. He was about to yell at Sirius about being in his human form before he had gone back to normal, but stopped when he looked at the face under the hair. Anila's eyes opened as Remus smoothed her hair away from her face, and she smiled at him.

"Lie back down, you need your rest. I have to get going anyways."

She stood up, not looking at Remus's lower half, and left the Shrieking Shack. Remus looked around for his clothes, hoping they weren't ruined. He spotted them in a corner of the room, undamaged, and hurried over to put them on. Once fully clothed, he woke the others, who transformed and hurried out of the Shack before Madame Pomfrey could discover them.

* * *

Author's Note: Hello! I'm really sorry for not updating, but I've been busy and a bunch of distractions keep popping up. This chapter is the last one on this story that I will be able to post for a few months, most likely until May, but I'm not abandoning it, just taking some time to work on other things. I hope all of you are well and happy, and I will post in a few months. See you then!


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